PRESERVING THE IDENTITY CRISIS - AUTONOMY, SYSTEM AND SOVEREIGNTY IN EUROPEAN LAW

This article uses Hans Kelsen's theory of a legal system to take a fre sh look at European Community law, and the relationship between the Eu ropean Community, its Member States, and international law. It argues that the basis of the Community's legal legitimacy is indeterminate, a nd offers a model to accommodate that indeterminacy. This model is fou nded on a constructivist approach suggested to be particularly useful in the EC context. Using this approach, it is argued that the concepts of system, autonomy and sovereignty in the Community can only be unde rstood through the recognition of a plurality of viewpoints, and that it is crucial, in describing the Community, to distinguish between a c oncept per se and the choice to adopt that concept.