Treaty Conflict and the European Union

Jan Klabbers questions how membership of the European Union affects treaties concluded between the Union's member states and third states, both when it concerns treaties concluded before EU membership and treaties concluded after joining. Following a discussion of the public international law rules on treaty conflict, the author analyzes the case-law of the European Court of Justice and examines how such conflicts are approached in state practice. • Examination of how the ECJ has approached treaty conflict will help students to understand the important issues • Discussion of past trends in the EU will aid practitioners in preparing for litigation • Provides an insight into a growth area that has previously received little research

Part I. Setting the Scene 1. Introduction 2. Understanding treaty conflict Part II. International Law 3. The pre-Vienna convention regime 4. Drafting the Vienna convention 5. Post-Vienna convention developments Part III. EC Law 6. The EC and anterior treaties 7. The UN charter and the European convention 8. Posterior treaties: Conceptual issues 9. Posterior treaties: practice 10. Conclusions