The Binding Force of Babel : The Enforcement of EC Law Unpublished in the Languages of the New Member States (Extended Version)

This paper explores some of the issues raised by the absence of due publication of EC secondary legislation in the languages of the new Member States after the 2004 Accession. It first lays down some general principles regarding the publication of legal acts in Community law, pertinent to the current situation. Second, it addresses specific derogations from this regime brought about by Accession. With the help of some general principles governing the publication and communication of legal norms in EC law and in the Member States, it tries to suggest a possible approach to address the extraordinary situation following the 2004 enlargement. It takes into account the consequences of the proposed solution and the potential sequels on the national level, especially before the constitutional courts of the new Member States. Finally, it draws some conclusions regarding publication of legislation in the European Union and the future of legislative linguistic pluralism