Putting European Constitutionalism in its Place: The Spatial Foundations of the Judicial Construction of Europe

Abstract

The judicial dialogue between national courts and the European Court of Justice as a cornerstone of European constitutionalism – The importance of understanding how place-based identities shape national judges’ willingness to apply EU law and enter into dialogue with the European Court of Justice through the preliminary reference procedure – An interdisciplinary approach for studying lawyers and judges’ legal consciousness and sense of place-attachment – Geospatial and interview evidence of how national lawyers and judges’ participation in the preliminary reference procedure is influenced by their attachment to particular court settings and cities – Consequences for European constitutionalism and future research on the uneven judicial protection of EU rights.