A tale of four crises : the European Court of Justice's response to crises

Abstract

While the European Union was recently affected by four major and multifaceted crises which gave rise to litigation, the response of the European Court of Justice to these events has remained understudied. From a close reading of the procedural features, the legal reasoning and timing of four key judgments concerning measures adopted in the wake of the Eurozone crisis, the migration crisis, Brexit, and the COVID-19 pandemic, this article sketches a broader narrative about the Court’s response to crises which transcends the specificities of the legal issues and the context of each case. The findings suggest that the Court is likely to adjudicate a crisis case by applying the expedited procedure depending on political developments, assign a larger chamber, carefully justify its reasoning with references to settled case-law, conduct a context-sensitive balancing exercise, and deliver a decision at a politically relevant time.