With: Amadeon Arena, University of Naples Federico II
Chair: Teresa Cabrita, UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles, IEE
Discussant: Julio Baquero-Cruz (European Commission Legal Service)
Abstract:
What happens when we treat landmark rulings not just as legal texts, but as stories shaped by people, procedures, and perspectives? This is the premise of Rediscovering European Integration through Legal Storytelling (REILS), a research project that re-examines the foundational rulings of the European Court of Justice through the PAN method—Process, Actors, Narratives. By tracing the procedural history of each case, highlighting the key individuals involved, and situating the rulings within their broader socio-political context, REILS seeks to gather a richer understanding of how European integration was forged in court. As a sample of this approach, the presentation will focus on the Court’s first two rulings—France v. High Authority and Italy v. High Authority—providing insights into the early steps of supranational adjudication. Drawing on original photographs, it will revisit the Court’s inaugural hearing and explore the key actors who shaped its earliest jurisprudence.
The speaker: Amedeo Arena is Professor of European Union Law at the University of Naples Federico II and Professor of History of the European Court of Justice at the European College of Parma. For years, he followed the standard academic script: completing a PhD, publishing doctrinal scholarship, teaching large lecture-based courses in proper continental fashion, and quietly hoping to be cited in an Advocate General’s opinion. Then came an academic midlife crisis — and instead of buying a vintage Vespa, he fell down the archival research rabbit hole. He spent months chasing obscure details — including, at one point, the preferred winemaker of Gian Galeazzo Stendardi, the lawyer behind Costa v. ENEL. Eventually, he turned this obsession into a method. He now leads REILS – Rediscovering European Integration through Legal Storytelling – a project uncovering the forgotten plotlines and backstage drama behind foundational EU cases.
