Legal Methods for the Study of EU Institutional Practice

Abstract

Methodological choices in the legal study of the role of EU institutions - The so-called doctrinal legal method is appropriate, provided that it includes the analysis of key elements of non-legal institutional practice - Simple distinction between the study of 'law in the books' and that of 'law in action' to be qualified - Doctrinal legal scholarship is meaningful only when it acknowledges and incorporates a certain amount of 'law in action'.