LAW AND THE OTHER EUROPEANS

The purpose of this article is to emphasize the role that the law play s in determining who is 'European' in the new Europe, and who is not. The first part of the article introduces a critical commentary on the present state of EC law with regard to non-EC nationals. Necessarily, this also includes a discussion of the role of the European Court of J ustice, and such instruments as the Schengen Convention. Having discus sed the situation of those who are excluded once 'in' the Community, i t then moves to discuss the fate of those excluded from the Community itself. It suggests that the procedures for controlling immigration fl ows are essentially extra-legal, and themselves in breach of Community and international law. The second part of the article introduces a th eoretical framework for a discussion of 'otherness', applying the writ ings of such as Julia Kristeva and Hannah Arendt to the particular Eur opean situation. It suggests that such writings strike a chord with a number of themes common in critical legal studies literature on exclus ion and inclusion. In conclusion, the article suggests that the new Eu rope must adopt a distinctively post-modern approach to 'otherness', w hich moves away from established theories of citizenship and human rig hts, and which is instead based on the kind of 'humane' human rights r ecently advocated by such as Richard Rorty and Joseph Weller.