The legal effects of harmonised standards in EU law: From hard to soft law, and back?

Annalisa Volpato*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademic

Abstract

Technical standards are a form of soft law which has long played a fundamental role in the regulation of the internal market of the EU. Initially developed as purely private, voluntary instruments, the New Approach has used them as regulatory tools for harmonisation. The progressive evolution of legislation, institutional practice and case law has fundamentally changed their position within the EU legal framework. This chapter retraces this evolution and focuses in particular on the legal effects of harmonised standards, analysing the relevant shifts in regulatory technique and in judicial interpretation in terms of the ‘hardening’ or ‘softening’ of the rules of conduct contained in harmonised standards.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Legal Effects of EU Soft Law: Theory, Language and Sectoral Insights
EditorsPetra L. Láncos, Napoleon Xanthoulis, Luis Arroyo Jiménez
PublisherEdward Elgar Publishing
Chapter9
Pages193-212
Number of pages20
ISBN (Electronic)9781802208917
ISBN (Print)9781802208900
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Jul 2023

Keywords

  • harmonised standards
  • legal effects
  • bindingness
  • new approach
  • presumption of compliance

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