Legislation
EUR-Lex
EUR-Lex is the Publications Office of the European Union's gateway to EU law: the Official Journal, treaties, regulations, directives, preparatory documents and the case law of the Court of Justice, in the official languages of the Union. Since Regulation (EU) No 216/2013 the Official Journal is published electronically, and only that electronic edition is authentic and produces legal effects. Every document carries a CELEX number; that number is the stable key that still retrieves a text years later, even when web addresses change.
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What this source does not give you
The consolidated texts on EUR-Lex are a working aid, not law: every consolidated version carries the warning that the text is for information only, is not legally binding, and that only the acts published in the Official Journal are authentic. National law of the member states is not included — for that the EU points to the separate N-Lex portal.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I cite a consolidated EUR-Lex text in a court document?
- As a working aid yes, as an authentic source no. Every consolidated text on EUR-Lex is headed by a notice stating that the text is meant purely as an information tool, is not legally binding, that the EU institutions accept no liability for its content, and that only the acts published in the Official Journal of the European Union are authentic. A consolidated version merges all amendments into one readable text, but that merging is editorial work, not a legislative act. Anyone relying on a provision therefore cites the original act and the amending acts as published in the Official Journal; the consolidated version links straight to them.
- Which version of the Official Journal is authentic, then?
- The electronic edition. Regulation (EU) No 216/2013 provides that the Official Journal is published electronically in the official languages and that only that electronic edition is authentic and produces legal effects. The edition carries an advanced electronic signature based on a qualified certificate; the certificate is published on EUR-Lex so that anyone can verify authenticity. There is one exception: if an unforeseen and exceptional disruption of the Publications Office's information system prevents electronic publication, only the printed edition of that issue is authentic, and its electronic version is added later for information purposes only.
- What is a CELEX number and why should I record it?
- The CELEX number is the identifier the Publications Office assigns to every document in the EU law database, for example 32016R0679 for the General Data Protection Regulation. It is the one reference that does not move with the website: the address publications.europa.eu/resource/celex/<number> delivers the document straight from the Publications Office's underlying repository, in the language you request. For a consolidated version the number starts with a 0 and ends with the reference date, for example 02016R0679-20160504. Anyone who wants a durable citation records the CELEX number alongside the Official Journal reference.
- Does EUR-Lex also contain the national law of the member states?
- No. EUR-Lex contains Union law itself: treaties, legislation, preparatory documents, international agreements and EU case law. For the national law of individual member states there is a separate portal, N-Lex, which provides central access to the national legal databases; the German federal legislation site links to that portal as well. So to find out how a directive was transposed in a particular country you always have to go to the national source — EUR-Lex tells you what the directive requires, not what the national legislature made of it.
- Does an old issue of the Official Journal stay available?
- Yes. Regulation (EU) No 216/2013 obliges the Publications Office to make the electronic edition of the Official Journal available to the public on the EUR-Lex website in a non-obsolete format and for an unlimited period, and expressly provides that consultation is free of charge. The Publications Office is tasked with preserving and archiving the electronic files and with keeping pace with future technological developments. That makes a citation to the Official Journal more durable than a citation to an arbitrary web page.