A Fresh Look at the 2005 Commission v. United Kingdom Judgment in Light of the Euratom Treaty’s Drafting History

Abstract

This article provides a new example of a ‘fresh look at an old case’. It examines the 2005 Commission v. United Kingdom case in light of a study conducted using the Historical Archives of the European Union. The historical holdings contain many travaux ­préparatoires of the Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Community. These documents can be very useful for reconstructing the drafting history of the founding treaties and developing a historical interpretation of their provisions. In Commission v. United Kingdom, the same parties that participated in the negotiation process relied on these travaux préparatoires, and the Court of Justice of the European Union itself engaged in a historical interpretation of the provisions at stake. Taking this case as an example, this article delves into questions pertaining to the use of travaux préparatoires as a means of interpretation and the respective role of judge and historians in performing the task of shedding light on the original will of the contracting parties and on the historical context in which this will was shaped.