Published in the prestigious Wolters Kluwer European Monograph Series, the book under review is a completely revised and updated English version of "EU-procesrecht", which was written by René Barents in Dutch and last published in its 4th edition in 2012. The book is a well-established textbook on the topic and the author should be thanked for making his work finally available in English, for the benefit of a much larger audience (this reviewer included). The book is, indeed, a first-class work on the law and practice of the EU judicial system and an excellent alternative to the few other existing books on the topic.  

The book is intended, in the author's words (xxi), "to assist the practitioner in finding his way amongst the myriad of provisions in the EU Treaties, the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Rules of procedure of the Court of Justice, General Court and Civil Servant Tribunal that govern the system of remedies and the proceedings before these courts". It does not address the procedure for infringement of Union law by Member States and the advisory procedure.

It addresses the renewed rules of procedure of the Court of Justice, General Court and the Civil Servant Tribunal (adopted between 2012 and 2015) and is divided into 24 chapters. It covers all the topics regarding the institutions and the rules of procedure for litigating cases before the EU Courts. Some topics are treated more fully than others. For example, the action for annulment is dealt with in around 150 pages. Just over 100 pages are used for the preliminary ruling procedure. This is very generous compared to the around 30 pages used to discuss actions for damages, which, in this reviewer’s opinion, deserve more space and a deeper analysis, especially with regard to two very complex and disputed issues: damage and causal link. It is worth mentioning that all aspects of procedure are discussed in detail and with a wealth of examples and references to case law.

Very interesting in this reviewer's opinion is the fact that the author, who is a member of the General Court, does not limit himself to explaining rules and listing cases. He also intervenes with personal views on controversial topics, not necessarily agreeing with his Institution's practice. For example, within the context of actions for annulment, and in relation to the criterion of legal effects for acts susceptible to a review of legality, the Author refers to the well-known Tillack case, affirming that "the wisdom of this case law seems questionable" (p. 150). Also, very useful are some tables that illustrate the application or interpretation of principles or rules in specific circumstances, such as the table (p. 246) on individual concern within the context of actions for annulment by private applicants.  

To sum up, the book is clearly written, detailed, authoritative and thought-provoking. A must-have for litigators before the EU Courts and for those who want to understand the EU judicial system.

Reviewed July 2017

By Riccardo Sciaudone

Head