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How to use the Primary Source Material of the European Communities (EC)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2019

Extract

Publications of the EC ought to be published by the Office for Official Publications of the EC (henceforth cited as “Office”) in Luxembourg. However, the five institutions which are jointly responsible for the Office (European Parliament, Council, Commission, Court of Justice, Economic and Social Committee) also publish documents and papers themselves. Moreover, a clearly defined publication policy does not exist neither in the Office nor in the institutions. These two factors, the variety of publishers and the lack of concept, make it particularly difficult to know what has been published in the EC, all the more for persons from non-member countries. The “Catalogue of the publications of the European Communities Institutions 1972–1973” (476 pages) does not provide complete information on the publications, although this catalogue is, of course, helpful. The enormous bulk of paper issued by the EC is partly for sale, partly for distribution free of charge, only a part of the documents are printed, others are duplicated typescripts; a lot of paper is brought out for the information of the general public, whereas legal and scientific texts are only of interest for a smaller number of persons. For a librarian in charge of getting adequate information on the EC, I should like to propose the acquisition of the following minimum set of EC publications:

Primary legislation (foundation treaties),

Official Journal (L and C),

Official Journal– Annex (Debates of the European Parliament),

Working documents of the European Parliament,

Reports of Cases before the Court,

General Reports on the Activities of the EC,

Bulletin of the EC and Supplement thereto.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © International Association of Law Libraries 1976 

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References

1 Decision of 16 January 1969 on the establishment of the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities (OJ L 13, 18 January 1969, p. 19).Google Scholar

2 Decision of 21 April 1970 on the Replacement of Financial Contributions from Member States by the Communities’ own Resources (OJ L 94, 28 April 1970, p. 19), Art. 3, and Act concerning the Conditions of Accession and the Adjustments to the Treaties (OJ, Special Edition, 27 March 1972), Art. 129.Google Scholar

3 A further supplement with acts omitted by error was published in April 1976.Google Scholar

4 Secondary Legislation of the European Communities. Subject Index and Numerical List. Legislation in force on 31 December 1972. London 1973. 94 p. £ 1.20.Google Scholar

5 The “Report on the Subdivision of the OJ, the Creation of a Community Index and the Publication of a Collection of the Principal Acts of Community Law” was adopted on 24 February 1976 by the Management Committee of the Office and is now considered by the Council.Google Scholar

6 Erich Bülow/Georg Langner: Fundstellennachweis für das Recht der Europäischen Gemeinschaften. 12. ed. Cologne 1974. 292 pp. DM 10.70.Google Scholar

7 EF-Lovregister 1973 and 1974, ed. by Ole Due and others. Copenhague 1974 resp. 1975. XIX, 292 pp. resp. XX, 427 pp.Google Scholar

8 Act of 27 July 1957 (Bundesgesetzblatt II p. 753), art. 2.Google Scholar

9 In the German Bundesanzeiger a similar list is published monthly with regard to national legislation (“Übersicht über den Stand der Bundesgesetzgebung”).Google Scholar

10 Treaty establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the EC of 8 April 1965 (OJ 152, 13 July 1967, p. 2), art. 18.Google Scholar

11 Supplement 3/75 for the years 1972–1974, Suppl. 9/72 for the antecedent period.Google Scholar

12 Aymeric Bailleux: Inventaire chronologique des actes nationaux d'application du droit communautaire dans l'ordre juridique français (18 avril 1951 - 1° septembre 1973). Université de Nice. Institut du droit de la paix et du développement. 72 pp.Google Scholar