Dr Sara Drake

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

My main areas of research are:

• The enforcement of EU rights before national courts;
• The impact of Brexit on individuals' EU rights;
• The effective enforcement of EU law and policy from an interdisciplinary perspective;
• The effective enforcement of EU air passenger rights (Regulation 261/2004).

The enforcement of EU rights before national courts; 

My interest in this area of EU law, which dates back to my PhD, takes the individual as its starting point and focuses on how EU law has been developed to enable individuals to effectively enforced their rights before national courts. This includes researching the constitutional principles developed by the EU's Court of Justice and how they are applied by national courts. My work has been published in leading European law journals  (European Law Review, European Public Law, Irish Journal for European Law), and has been cited in the English Court of Appeal (Marks & Spencer v. Commissioners for Customs & Excise [2004] 1 CMLR 8 (29), Auld LJ).  I am the author of the leading journal article on the principle of indirect effect (or consistent interpretation) which has been in the top 10 downloads from European Law Review via Westlaw since 2012.  As part of a collaborative project led by Professor Christian N.K. Franklin (Bergen, Norway), I was invited to author a study into how the principle of indirect effect (or Marleasing principle) has been applied by the UK courts. This study appears as a chapter in an edited volume entitled, The Effectiveness and Application of EU and EEA Law in National Courts: Principles of Consistent Interpretation (2018, Intersentia).

The impact of the UK's withdrawal on EU rights 

I conduct research into the UK's constitutional disentanglement from the EU and its impact on the ability of individuals to enforce their EU-derived rights post-Brexit. I have presented at the Public Law Project: Wales Conference (2017) on the impact of the EU (WIthdrawal) Act 2018 on EU rights and remedies in Wales post-Brexit. I recently co-authored a case note on one of the first post-Brexit judgments of the Court of Appeal, (Lipton and Anr v. BA City Flyer Ltd, 30th March 2021) with Professor Jo Hunt (forthcoming) with a particular focus on section 29 of the EU (Future Relationship) Act 2020.

Interdisciplinary approaches to the effective enforcement of EU law; 

By research also extends beyond judicial enforcement to other avenues for the effective enforcement of EU rights as explored in a volume I co-edited (with Melanie Smith) entitled, New Directions in the Effective Enforcement of EU Law and Policy (2016, Edward Elgar).  This led to the founding of the UACES Research Network on the Effective Enforcement of EU Law and Policy (2018-2021) which I lead together with Monica Garcia Quesada (LUISS Guido Carli).  The network draws together scholars  who are engaged in researching the enforcement of EU law and policy in its broadest sense from different disciplinary perspectives.  More details about our events, activities and blog posts can be found at www.euenforcement.com You can follow us on Twitter @euenforcement

The effective enforcement of EU air passenger rights (Regulation 261/2004)

My current work focuses on the effective enforcement of EU air passenger rights under Regulation 261/2004 and will be the topic of a book which will be published by Hart in 2023.  The book builds on my previous work in this field whcih includes a report I authored for the European Parliament on the operation of Regulation 261/2004 (November 2018) which was quoted in the Financial Times. In April 2020, I also published an article which explores why air passengers cannot effectively enforce their EU rights and calls for legislative reform (Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law).

The UK's departure from the EU has led to the relaunch of the legislative process for recasting the Regulation. However, progress is now in doubt due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation sector.  In 2021, I received funding from the Centre for Law and Society for an interdisciplinary collaborative project with researchers from Cardiff Business School on the consumer awareness of legal rights, airlines' responses and avenues of redress for flight cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching

Law of the European Union, Module Leader (Year 3)

Postgraduate Teaching

Competition Law, Module Leader

PhD supervision

Matthew Cole, Tying in EU Competition Law (completed)

Charell Van Rooy, Expertise and Legitimacy in Models of Regulatory Co-operation: Lessons from the Transatlantic Experience (completed)

Anneka Owens, Equality and Access to Justice in Wales post-Brexit

Michael Howard, The Complex Interface between IP and Competition Law in Digital Application Markets

Michelle Meiselles, The Franchisee as a Consumer

Biography

I am a graduate in Law with French and have studied at the University of Nantes, France (Erasmus Programme), and Université de Sciences Sociales, Toulouse, France (Maîtrise en droit communautaire et international).  Following completion of my PhD, I taught EU law, EU competition law, and Irish contract law, at the National University of Ireland, Galway, Republic of Ireland, and was appointed Jean Monnet Lecturer in European Public Law in 2001.

I joined Cardiff University in 2003 and am a Reader in European Union Law and Competition Law. I have been a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Nantes, France and University of Brescia, Italy, and a Visiting Fellow at the European University Institute (EUI), Florence, Italy. I was appointed UK (Alternate) Member, European Union's Economic and Social Committee, Brussels, from 2007-2011, and twice re-appointed from 2014-2015, 2015-2020.  I have been the Deputy Convenor for the EU and Competition Law Panel of the Society of Legal Scholars (SLS). I currently sit on their Legal Education Committee and have been appointed the SLS representative for the European Law Faculties Association (ELFA). 

I am co-ordinator for the UACES funded Research Network on the Effective Enforcement of EU Law and Policy (www.euenforcement.com). I sit on the Editorial Board of the Irish Journal for European Law as (long) articles editor.  I am an expert analyst and contributor for the EU Law Live website focusing on EU air passenger rights.

Professional memberships

• Member of the Society of Legal Scholars (SLS)
• Member of the Irish Association of Law Teachers (IALT)
• Member of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)

Academic positions

2001-2003: Jean Monnet Lecturer in European Public Law, National University of Ireland, Galway, Republic of Ireland.

1999-2001: Temporary Teaching Assistant, National University of Ireland, Galway, Republic of Ireland.

Committees and reviewing

• Representative for the Society for Legal Scholars (SLS) at the European Law Faculties Association (ELFA)
• Member, Legal Education Committee, Society for Legal Scholars (SLS)
• Editorial Board, Irish Journal for European Law (Joint Articles Editor)
• Expert Analyst and Contributor to EU Law Live
• Grant reviewer, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, Poland National Science Centre
• Journal reviewer, Journal of Law and Society, Legal Studies, European Law Review, Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, European Public Law, Irish Journal for European Law, Journal of Air Transport Management
• Book proposal reviewer, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Hart Publishing, Routledge

Supervisions

I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:

• EU law, particularly in the field of remedies and enforcement
• The interaction between EU law and domestic law post-Brexit ('EU Relations Law')
• Air passenger rights in the EU and UK

Current supervision

Michael Howard

Research student