Annual OUP Journal of
Environmental Law Lecture

Law and Science in
the EU Courtrooms

Professor Ellen Vos
Faculty of Law,
Maastricht University 

Venue
Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre,
UCL Central Campus,
Gower Street, London, WC1H 6BT 

About the Lecture

The ongoing scientification of EU risk regulation raises not only important questions about the role of science in decision-making, the quality of science and science-making and principles of good governance, but also about the role of science before the EU Courts. EU courts visibly struggle in dealing with the technicalities of cases that involve scientific uncertainty and complex technical issues. These issues are at times so complex that the question arises how the EU Courts (and courts in general), can legitimately deal with such issues. What precisely should be the role of the Court in adjudicating these kinds of conflicts? This lecture will discuss the delicate dilemma of how the Court should balance deferential and interventionist review in cases of scientific uncertainty and complexity and address the fundamental question as to which role the EU courts should have in conflicts involving science and which role science and experts should play in litigation.

Speaker Biography

Ellen Vos is Professor of European Union Law at the Law Faculty of Maastricht University. She is co-director of the Maastricht Centre for European Law. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Law from the European University Institute in Florence. She teaches and has published extensively in the field of EU Law, institutional law (comitology and agencies), governance, market integration and risk regulation (precautionary principle). She supervises several master and PhD students in these areas.

Ellen Vos is member of the Advisory Board of the Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, the European Journal of Risk Regulation as well as the Maastricht Working Papers on Law and the Ius Commune Book Series. 

About the Journal

Condensing essential information into just three issues a year, the Journal of Environmental Law has become an authoritative source of informed analysis for all those who have any dealings in this vital field of legal study. The journal exists for both legal practitioners and academics, but also proves accessible for all other groups concerned with the environment, from scientists to planners. It provides major articles on a wide variety of topics, refereed and written to the highest standards, providing innovative and authoritative appraisals of current and emerging concepts, policies, and practice.