Soft Law in Court

Known under the generic term of soft law, instruments that are not legally binding but can produce legal and practical effects are proliferating in European competition and State aid law. This soft law has been taken into account by the EU Courts at an increasing rate over the years, to the point where such instruments were recognized as regulatory instruments in their own right. The Courts have required Member States to comply with soft law, and demanded that national courts take soft law into consideration when deciding on cases. The courts have even annulled Commission decisions for failure to comply with soft law.