Good Judgment: The European Court of Justice as a Context-Conscious Lawmaker [Hardcover]

Courts are context-conscious. They solve legal disputes with societal impact in mind, using interpretive tools and procedural means. This book develops concepts and methods for a systematic and legally informative analysis of this complex process. The evidence delivered prompts a conversation about the authority courts have to change the law. The analysis focuses on the European Court of Justice and its free movement case law. The framework and theory, however, are relevant to courts and case law everywhere. This is a compelling and intriguing examination of the ECJ and its shaping of a key tenet of EU law.Uraka `adlis Part-time Professor at the European University Institute, Italy, and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

1. Introduction
a. The Main Claim
b. The Structure
i. The Premise
ii. Contribution
c. The Outline
d. In Sum

Part One: The Analytical Framework
2. Context Conscious Judging
a. Four Perspectives on Context Conscious Judging
i. Maximising Legal Values with Sound Legal Arguments
ii. Maximising Power with Strategic Solutions
iii. Maintaining Authority
iv. Minimising Conflict by Muddling Through
b. The Court's Context Conscious Reasoning and Political Power

3. Good Judgement
a. From Context Conscious Judging to Good Judgment
i. The Baseline: Model Application of Law and the Structure of Typical Justification
ii. Non-binary Decisions: An Illustration
iii. Conflicting Interests
iv. Distinctions
b. Three Types of Good Judgment
c. Conclusion

4. Operationalising Good Judgment
a. Three Steps of the Analysis
b. The Parameters of Case Law
i. Legal Characteristics
ii.