Soft Post-Legislative Rulemaking: A Time for More Stringent Control

Abstract

The Commission's soft post-legislative rulemaking by way of communications, notices, codes and similar instruments has become an increasingly important tool for the adequate functioning of the system of shared administration in the EU. However, the development of its legal framework has not kept pace with this, as the Treaty on the EU nor the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) recognise this regulatory phenomenon. As a result, its current procedural control is of a very ad hoc nature. Given the risks this rulemaking involves for the legitimacy of the EU, its practical and legal importance for legal practice and the way in which the Treaty of Lisbon has sought to condition and control the behaviour of the Union institutions, it is argued that the time is ripe for a more stringent and consistent procedural control of soft post-legislative rulemaking. Some options to realise this are presented for further research. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.