Without the law there would be no European Union

Go to any introductory lecture on the European Union and you will hear phrases such as 'unique experiment,' 'international co-operation,' 'rule of law.'

Indeed the whole concept of what has become today's EU was founded upon the simple idea that if the conduct of nations could be voluntarily regulated by law, then there would be no further need for war.

From this grew the idea of a 'community' of nations pooling their sovereignty and subjecting themselves to a legal discipline t...