The European Union Collection, established with the UK's accession in 1973 contains the law of the EU and relevant law of the Member States of which there are now 25. Since 1st January, 1994, following the Agreement on the European Economic Area, the scope of EU law has widened to include all the EFTA countries except Switzerland. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, being part of the EU for certain purposes only, are not included here but are covered by Lincoln's Inn.

The main components of the collection are:

1. Legislation - Various editions of the primary legislation are kept such as the Treaty of Rome, Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) and Treaty of Amsterdam. Secondary legislation, ie regulations, directives and decisions will be found in the Official Journal of the European Communities in both French and English. Annotated texts can be found in the Encyclopædia of European Union Law.
2. Law Reports - The library holds the official European Court Reports; the unofficial series Common Market Law Reports, which covers selected cases only; transcripts of Judgments and Opinions of the Advocates General, European Law Reports of Cases in the UK and Ireland and International Litigation Procedure
3. Digests - The library holds European Current Law and the Digest of Case Law Relating to the European Communities.
4. Textbooks and Encyclopædias - There are general texts and works on specific aspects of EU law such as banking law, competition law and free movement of persons.
5. Periodicals- Major European journals of EU law are held as well as a selection on more specialist subjects such as European Competition Law Review, European Intellectual Property Review and Intertax.
6. Electronic Sources - The library subscribes to Lawtel EU, Lexis Nexis EU, Justis Celex and EU Direct

Relevant Law of the Member States

Codes and other laws, commentaries, law reports, textbooks and periodicals have been acquired where appropriate. The Jupiter encyclopædia, Le droit des affaires dans les pays de l'Union Européenne , is a useful substitute for primary sources as it contains, in French, material not otherwise readily available covering the law of companies, competition and contracts in member states. European Commercial Cases contain, in English, reports and digests of selected cases before national courts. European Current Law records legal developments throughout Europe.

Reference Sources

An information file, kept at the Enquiry Desk contains useful addresses and telephone numbers such as that of the Commission Office, Embassies etc. For help with specialised EU enquires, our EU librarian Ruth Jones can assist, by email at library@middletemple.org.uk.

Reference Sources

Click here for European and Human Rights Information On Line, and here for On Line Links for Lawyers.