Towards an analytical framework to study annulments in the EU

Abstract

The political role of annulment litigation has long evaded scholars’ interest. To better understand this role, we need to know why different actors decide to initiate and join annulment actions. Moreover, we have to understand the structure of annulment litigation by assessing the actors that consider and engage in annulment litigation and kinds of configurations in which they act. Finally, we have to analyze the impact of annulment litigation. This chapter develops these research questions. Additionally, it lays the conceptual ground to answer these questions by distinguishing between horizontal and vertical conflicts and between simple and complex conflict situations. While the literature on multilevel governance has traditionally strongly focused on cooperative patterns of coordination, annulment actions offer a way to assess the conflictive aspects of this process. To do so, it is vital to take an integrated look at links between the emergence, structure, and outcomes of annulment litigation.