The EU Constitution, War and Treaty Interpretation

The EU Constitution in Time of War, Legal Responses to Russia's Aggression against Ukraine, is a scholarly and timely work, which also raises issues concerning the nature of EU law that are contestable and require further analysis.The catalyst is, as indicated by the title, Russian aggression against Ukraine.The work has indeed become more timely since its publication, given the changes in the world order during the first year of President Trump's second term of office, including in this respect the dangers posed to the continued existence of NATO, and the implications of this for the role of the EU during times of war.We shall return to these issues in due course.The book sheds valuable light on the legal dimensions that arise from the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.It is well-researched, with a rich blend of analytical textual analysis, combined with due attention given to the broader political and geopolitical environment that prevails in this area.This review begins by addressing the structure of the book and the focus of the individual chapters.This is followed by consideration of four issues of more general relevance for EU legal studies.They are: the comparative constitutional focal point with the US that informs the overall architecture of the book; the meaning to be accorded to the European constitution; the idea of the EU as embodying a living constitution; and the implications and desirability of Treaty amendments suggested by the author.