common law tradition of the former and the Roman law associations of the latter. For example, the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956 does no violence to either system in spite of differences in the law of contract in the two countries.
27. The structure of the Treaties and of the regulations and other instru- ments issued by the authorities of Communities differs from that of statutes and subordinate legislation in the United Kingdom; provisions are framed in more general terms and more is left to judicial interpretation. For this reason the interpretation of law emanating from the Communities would present some problems to the legal profession and, so far as it fell within their jurisdiction, to the courts of the United Kingdom. The task of construing international agreements given the force of law in the United Kingdom would not, however, be a new one. United Kingdom courts, when construing such documents, have regard to the fact that their character and drafting differs from that of United Kingdom legislation. Moreover, if the United Kingdom became a member of the Communities we would be taking part in the preparation of future Community instruments and the special needs of our legal system would be taken into account.
28. So far as they had difficulties of interpretation, United Kingdom courts should, in the course of time, derive a good deal of assistance from the body of decisions given by the European Court on references under Article 177 of the EEC Treaty and Article 150 of the EURATOM Treaty. Edited Reports of the important case law of the European Communities are already available in this country. On the United Kingdom joining the Communities, United Kingdom courts would be enabled, and in the case of final courts would be required, to refer any questions raised before them on the interpretation of the EEC or EURATOM Treaties to the European Court for a ruling. Thus provisions of Community law raising difficulties in their application to our legal system would in time become clarified by decisions of the European Court. In giving its judgments on references under Article 177 the European Court limits itself to giving abstract rulings on the meaning of the relevant provisions of the Treaties and their instruments and leaves it to the national court to apply the provisions so interpreted to the particular circumstances of the case.
29. It may be assumed that there would be an official and authoritative English version of the Treaties' and their instruments, both present and future. This would be the primary version for use by United Kingdom courts and, in the case of future instruments, would be published in the Official Journal of the Communities. It would probably be convenient to make provision for publication of the Treaties and regulations in this country by the Stationery Office.
30. Most of the Community law having direct internal effect, in so far as it imposes obligations, does so in relation to industrial and commercial activities and does not touch citizens in their private capacities. This is true even of the agriculture regulations, which regulate an industry operated
1 Except perhaps in the case of the ECSC Treaty, where the French text is the only official version and where it might therefore only be possible to have an unofficial English version. Unofficial translations have already been published by the Stationery Office-see note on inside cover of this paper.
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