The Development, Application and Implications of an EU Rule of Law in the Area of Migration Policy*

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the implications of extension of competence to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the area of immigration policy. Through analysis of the implications for Italy, France and the Netherlands of CJEU decisions on expulsion and family reunification it is shown that an EU rule of law has developed that can constrain the executive branch of Member State governments. This means that the EU can no longer be conceptualized in the area of immigration policy as merely an external venue to which Member States ‘escape’ in order to circumvent legal constraints at national level. The growing role of the CJEU forces instead a reconceptualization of the dynamics of immigration law and policy in Europe.