Insiders, Outsiders and the Limits of Analogous Interpretation in the ECJ Case Law
Loxa, Alezini LU
(2026)
p.211-233
- Abstract
- Among the many EU law doctrines, none remains as largely uncontroversial as the fundamental normative division between us, the EU citizens at the centre of the legal order and the others, non-EU migrants. Next to the Treaty framework and the different legal bases for free movement of persons and migration, the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU has been central in sustaining the dividing line between the insiders and outsiders of EU law. In this chapter I suggest that while the overall framework regulating the rights of EU and non-EU migrants is different, there are specific areas where the rights attributed to both serve the same purpose and function. In such cases, resolving disputes by emphasizing the differentiation between EU... (More)
- Among the many EU law doctrines, none remains as largely uncontroversial as the fundamental normative division between us, the EU citizens at the centre of the legal order and the others, non-EU migrants. Next to the Treaty framework and the different legal bases for free movement of persons and migration, the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU has been central in sustaining the dividing line between the insiders and outsiders of EU law. In this chapter I suggest that while the overall framework regulating the rights of EU and non-EU migrants is different, there are specific areas where the rights attributed to both serve the same purpose and function. In such cases, resolving disputes by emphasizing the differentiation between EU and non-EU migrants amounts to a fictitious construction, rather than a justification based on the interpretation of EU law. To show this the analysis focuses on family reunification and examines how the Court has addressed the relation between the Family Reunification Directive and the Citizens’ rights Directive. Without challenging the vision of EU law that the Court has on the special status of EU citizenship, rather accepting it as the starting point of the analysis, the chapter highlights the inconsistencies in the Court’s case law and argues for a different interpretation on textual, systematic and teleological grounds.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/12d9f154-5aa8-45df-995e-b05b9fcf0743
- author
- Loxa, Alezini
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- EU law, EU-rätt
- host publication
- The Reasoning of the Court of Justice of the EU: A Normative Assessment
- editor
- Lonardo, Luigi and Loxa, Alezini
- pages
- 23 pages
- publisher
- Oxford University Press
- ISBN
- 9780198982982
- 9780198983002
- DOI
- 10.1093/9780198983002.003.0012
- project
- The Legal Reasoning of the Court of Justice of the EU: A Normative Assessment
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 12d9f154-5aa8-45df-995e-b05b9fcf0743
- date added to LUP
- 2025-09-03 18:22:48
- date last changed
- 2026-05-27 03:17:10
@inbook{12d9f154-5aa8-45df-995e-b05b9fcf0743,
abstract = {{Among the many EU law doctrines, none remains as largely uncontroversial as the fundamental normative division between us, the EU citizens at the centre of the legal order and the others, non-EU migrants. Next to the Treaty framework and the different legal bases for free movement of persons and migration, the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU has been central in sustaining the dividing line between the insiders and outsiders of EU law. In this chapter I suggest that while the overall framework regulating the rights of EU and non-EU migrants is different, there are specific areas where the rights attributed to both serve the same purpose and function. In such cases, resolving disputes by emphasizing the differentiation between EU and non-EU migrants amounts to a fictitious construction, rather than a justification based on the interpretation of EU law. To show this the analysis focuses on family reunification and examines how the Court has addressed the relation between the Family Reunification Directive and the Citizens’ rights Directive. Without challenging the vision of EU law that the Court has on the special status of EU citizenship, rather accepting it as the starting point of the analysis, the chapter highlights the inconsistencies in the Court’s case law and argues for a different interpretation on textual, systematic and teleological grounds.<br/><br/>}},
author = {{Loxa, Alezini}},
booktitle = {{The Reasoning of the Court of Justice of the EU: A Normative Assessment}},
editor = {{Lonardo, Luigi and Loxa, Alezini}},
isbn = {{9780198982982}},
keywords = {{EU law; EU-rätt}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{211--233}},
publisher = {{Oxford University Press}},
title = {{Insiders, Outsiders and the Limits of Analogous Interpretation in the ECJ Case Law}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/9780198983002.003.0012}},
doi = {{10.1093/9780198983002.003.0012}},
year = {{2026}},
}