Perspectives on Federalism is a free on-line peer-reviewed journal, promoted by the Centre for Studies on Federalism.

1. Austerity on the loose in Portugal: European judicial restraint in times of crisis
(Francisco Pereira Coutinho/Essay)

... they bypassed the opportunity to refer a question for a preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice challenging the validity of the MoU.  ...

2. The Legitimacy of Discriminatory Disenfranchisement? The Impact of the Rules on the Right to Vote in the Bremain/Brexit Referendum
(Allan F. Tatham/Editorial)

The Divisional Court of the Queen’s Bench Division of the England and Wales High Court handed down its decision on 20 April 2016 in the judicial review case of Shindler. This ruling confirmed that British ...

3. Patenting in Europe: The Jurisdiction of the CJEU over European Patent Law
(Mari Minn/Essay)

This paper will deal with EU competence over patent law, especially in the context of the TRIPS Agreement with reference to the ruling of CJEU in the Daiichi Sankyo case (CJEU case C-414/11 Daiichi Sankyo ...

4. The politics of sub-national constitutions and local government in Ethiopia
(Zemelak Ayitenew Ayele/Essay)

... phases – were driven from the centre. The process of establishing local government was influenced by the political exigencies the ruling party faced at particular times and the choices it made in reaction ...

5. Deferential dialogues between the Court of Justice and domestic courts regarding the compatibility of the EU Data Retention Directive with (higher?) national fundamental rights standards
(Ioana Pelin-Raducu/Essay)

... to ask for a preliminary ruling by the Court of Justice. Avenues of “silent” dialogue, as happens when constitutional courts do not send for a preliminary ruling while still following the Court’s precedents, ...

6. Indirect Taxation and the role of the European Court of Justice within the preliminary reference procedure
(Ricardo García Antón/Essay)

... that the nature of the relationship between the national courts that send requests for preliminary rulings and the CJEU has undergone profound changes. By analysing the case law in the field of indirect ...

7. Principles, rights and participatory institutions in the reformed statutes
(Josep -Maria Castellà Andreu/Essay)

... and principles, rights, institutions, competences over popular consultations and participation in the amendment process. By ruling out the possibility of autonomous communities holding referendums without ...

8. The returns directive in light of the El Dridi judgment
(Rosa Raffaelli/Note)

... and pre-return detention and to the general objectives of the EU’s immigration policy. The ruling will have far-reaching consequences not only on the Italian criminal and expulsions system, but also ...

9. Some reflections on the choices of the European Court of Justice in the Kücükdeveci preliminary ruling
(Filippo Fontanelli/Note)

In Kücükdeveci judgment, the European Court of Justice declared that national judges must set aside national norms that are at variance with the general principle of non discrimination on grounds of age, ...

10. The German Constitution in the future of the European Union after the sentence of the Federal Constitutional Court on the Lisbon Treaty
(Thomas Jansen/note)

  This note analyses the legal reasoning and the motivations of the recent judgment of the German Constitutional Court on the Lisbon Treaty and considers the possible impact of this ruling on the future ...