Provides readers with a concise examination of the structure and development of the European Union's legal system since 1945. This book draws a clear picture of the complexities of its organization and explains in detail the structure of its governmental powers and external relations.

This handbook delivers a useful introduction to the European Union through an in-depth analysis of the legal system of the European Union. The analysis is complemented by a survey of the evolution and structure of the Union and its institutions.
Detailed characteristics that make up the European Union
The text analyzes the legal order of the European Union, dealing with the issues of jurisdiction, the particular characteristics of Union law, the composition and instruments of formal and informal Union law and the autonomy of the Union legal order. It describes and investigates the various decision-making and voting procedures used to put in effect the Union Acts.
There is an innovative chapter on the exercise of state power in the European Union, which studies the three branches of governance (legislative, executive and judicial) and analyzes the European system of governance from the perspective of the doctrine of the separation of powers.