Judicial Europeanization. The case of Zambrano in Ireland

Abstract

The Court of Justice of the European Union is an important motor of integration, and is said to be particularly strong in those cases, where the Council shows an inability to act. What is the relevance of the Court to Social Europe? Europeanization studies analyse how member states change due to European integration. Judicial Europeanization is a topic that is under-explored in the literature. Using a case-study approach, this paper analyses the Zambrano case, one of the most notable recent cases of judicial activism of the CJEU with regard to EU citizenship rights. Though the literature often assumes that member states only reluctantly embrace the requirements of case law, the Irish government immediately held its administration to implement the required changes. Analysing this case in greater detail and comparing it to the responses of several other member states promises to shed some light on the under-explored question of how Europeanization through case law proceeds, and what the Court may contribute to social Europe.