The Rise and Fall of International Law in the Post-Lisbon AFSJ Legislation Cycles

Abstract

The article focuses on the output and incidence of international law in the adopted AFSJ law-making for the period between 2009−14 and 2014−19, with particular emphasis upon asylum and immigration law. The article thus overall shows an initially rising but subsequently falling ‘international’ influence upon EU AFSJ directives and regulations. International law usage is significant even in times of populism or times of crisis-related law-making, particularly as to asylum and immigration law. However, the waning presence of international law also arguably indicates the development of the AFSJ as a booming legal field, where there is an operationalisation of a vast field of new actors, institutions, and systems through EU law. This account demonstrates how the EU shows a tangible intent to permit the influence of international law upon the AFSJ which supports well its general efforts to participate and engage as a global legal actor.