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Precedent in the S ui G eneris Legal Order: A Mine Run Approach
Author(s) -
Sadl Urska,
Hink Sigrid
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
european law journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.351
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1468-0386
pISSN - 1351-5993
DOI - 10.1111/eulj.12075
Subject(s) - citizenship , doctrine , order (exchange) , citation , subject (documents) , law , political science , law and economics , sociology , computer science , business , finance , library science , politics
In this article, we use case‐to‐case citation networks to explore the force of precedent in EU law. We introduce a novel methodology to analyse the extent to which references to past decisions act as reasons for decisions in subsequent cases and illustrate the approach on the European citizenship case‐law citation network. We conclude that the cohesive pull of precedent in EU citizenship case‐law is too weak to generate a coherent judicial doctrine, thereby confirming qualitative research on the subject. However, the incursions into competences of the M ember S tates in areas, found only tangential to EU citizenship, form a more consistent underlying story.