Biography

Before coming to the EUI, Reinhard Slepcevic held a position as researcher at the Institute for European Integration Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna in May 2008. During his doctoral studies, he completed the three-year post-graduate programme “European Integration” at the Department of Political Science of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna. Prior to that, he studied political science with a minor in Law and French at the University of Vienna and the Université catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve.
In his doctoral research, he analysed the potential of a decentralised system of European law enforcement. Based on the doctrine of supremacy and direct effect of EU law, private actors enjoying access to national courts are given the possibility to remedy compliance problems with directly effective European provisions. From a legal perspective, the potential of this instrument of judicial law enforcement is widely acknowledged. In his research, Reinhard shows that public interest group litigation aimed at the enforcement of EU rules might lead to very differential effects. He identifies specific socio-legal variables that determine the potential of European law enforcement through national courts. His in-depth analysis of four cases of public interest group litigation in France, Germany and the Netherlands reveals that this decentralised system of European law enforcement will only work under demanding conditions. This has important consequences both for the potential to enforce EU law through national courts and for prominent accounts explaining European integration and democratic governance in Europe.
Reinhard’s research interests revolve around the empirical analysis of European law and judicial politics in Europe. His future research will focus on the (collective) judicial enforcement of EU law and the interaction between national courts and the European Court of Justice.