When EU Courts meet science: Judicial review of science-based measures post-Pfizer

With the European Union following evidence-based regulatory approaches in internal market law it has become a routine for the European Courts to review decisions taken under circumstances of epistemic complexity and/or uncertainty. Their approach to review has historically evolved, with the watershed Pfizer-ruling dating back more than 20 years ago, from originally overall deferential to more intensified. Acting as informational catalysts, procedural review seems to allow for meaningful judicial review without scrutinising the scientific substance itself. The chapter follows the development of case law since the Pfizer-ruling, concluding that although the approach once apostrophised as the ‘modern approach’ has become the Courts’ regular approach, it by no means describes a uniform intensity of judicial review. Rather, the differentiation between procedural and substantive review proves to be blurred at times. For this reason, the chapter reflects on the risk of the Courts presuming the role of super-experts.