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The EEA two-pillar system

Watch Prof. Christa Tobler introduce the basics on the EEA system with regard to interpretation, supervision and dispute settlement.

In the European Economic Area (EEA), the group of the European Union (EU) Member States and the group of the EEA/EFTA (European Free Trade Association) Member States each have their own institutions.

In terms of its institutions, the EEA is characterised by a two-pillar system in which each pillar has its own international supervisory and judicial institution. One pillar is for the EU Member States and the other for the EEA/EFTA States. The respective institutions are important in the context of a number of administrative and court procedures that are intended to safeguard respect for the common law.


Further reading

Read on the Polydor principle in Christa Tobler, ‘Context-related Interpretation of Association Agreements. The Polydor Principle in a Comparative Perspective: EEA Law, Ankara Association Law and Market Access Agreements between Switzerland and the EU’, in: Daniel Thym/Margerite Zoeteweij-Turhan (eds), Rights of Third-Country Nationals under EU Association Agreements. Degrees of Free Movement and Citizenship, Leiden: Brill/Nijhoff 2015, 101-126.

Read on dispute settlement in Christa Tobler, ‘Dispute Resolution under the EEA Agreement’, in: Carl Baudenbacher (ed), The Handbook of EEA Law, Cham: Springer 2015, 195-207.

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