Public Security Exceptions and EU Free Movement Law

Abstract

This collection of essays brings together contributions from judges, legal scholars and practitioners in order to provide a comprehensive assessment of the law and practice of exceptions from the principle of free movement. This chapter will examine in a non-exhaustive manner different contexts within which Member States seek to rely upon public security in order to impose restrictions on the application of EU rules. The analysis will explore three main themes: the wide range of different categorisations of public security in primary and secondary law and their implications for the definition of a concept which is already nebulous in its content; the extent to which public security is construed in different terms depending on the legal and policy context within which a Member State seeks to protect it; and the extent to which the Court of Justice provides guidance to national authorities as to how to protect public security in compliance with the substantive and procedural requirements laid down in EU law (and to national courts as to how to monitor such compliance). Given the central role of national courts in the interpretation and application of public security exceptions, the chapter will take into account national case-law where possible.