§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Answer by Lord Bach on 25 November 1999 (H.L. Deb., col. 648), whether there are any clauses in the European Union treaties which might allow the Corpus Juris project to come into effect by majority voting; and, if so, whether they will identify those clauses. [HL1042]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonIn our opinion, there are no such provisions. Although Article 280(4) of the European Community Treaty enables the Council to adopt legislation by qualified majority voting (and co-decision with the European Parliament) to prevent and fight fraud against the financial interests of the Community, Article 280(4) also provides that such measures "shall not concern the application of national criminal law or the national administration of10WA justice". The proposals in the Corpus Juris project would have a major impact on national criminal law in all member states, and are therefore excluded. Some of the proposals in Corpus Juris could be introduced through legislation under Title VI of the Treaty on European Union, but they could only be adopted through unanimity. Alternatively, they might be introduced as a proposal for closer co-operation between a majority of member states under Article 43 of that Treaty. A proposal under Article 43 would require the unanimous support of the member states concerned, and member states which did not wish to take part in the closer co-operation would not be affected.