acquis

English

WOTD – 11 July 2018

Etymology

The hemicycle of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. The European Parliament exercises the lawmaking function of the European Union, and thus contributes towards the EU’s acquis.

Shortened from acquis communautaire: French acquis (“that which has been acquired or obtained”) + communautaire (“of the community”).

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /aˈkiː/
- Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ɑˈki/
Rhymes: -iː
Hyphenation: ac‧quis

Noun

acquis (uncountable)

Short for acquis communautaire.
1. (law) The accumulated legislation, legal acts, and court decisions which constitute the total body of European Union law.
  - 1997, Christopher Preston, “Conclusion: Can the Classical Method Survive?”, in Enlargement and Integration in the European Union, London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 228:
    Despite the clarity with which this principle has been reiterated, most applicants believe that their own circumstances are unique and deserve an equality of respect, even when this might challenge a principle of at least part of the acquis. The UK, for example, believed that its wider trading links merited special consideration. The realisation that such consideration would not be forthcoming was particularly humiliating, given that the UK had been invited to participate in forming the acquis in 1955–57.
  - 2006 March, Oxana Gutu, “Conclusions and Recommendations”, in Moldova’s Convergence with the Acquis: A Pro-growth and Pro-integration Strategy (CEPS Working Document; no. 238), Brussels: Centre for European Policy Studies, →ISBN, page 28:
    [T]he process of absorption of the EU Internal Market acquis by the new EU member states (Hungary and Estonia, e.g. completed their alignment wih the Internal Market acquis within three years) is not feasible for the Moldovan economy, at least in the following three to five years.
  - 2018, Helmut Heiss, Ulrike Mönnich, “Pre-contractual Duties in European Insurance Contract Law”, in Yong Qiang Han, Greg Pynt, editors, Carter v Boehm and Pre-contractual Duties in Insurance Law: A Global Perspective after 250 Years, Oxford: Hart Publishing, →ISBN, part IV (Pre-contractual Duties in Insurance Law: Mixed Legal System, Reinsurance and Brokers), page 386:
    In general, the existing acquis communautaire was adhered to as closely as possible in the drafting of the PEICL [Principles of European Insurance Contract Law]. Exceptions were made where shortcomings could be identified. Therefore, a number of directives, for example the insurance acquis, have been taken into account in the PEICL.
  - 2018, Geriant Howells, Mateja Durovic, “The Rise of EU Consumer Law between Common Law and Civil Law Traditions”, in Francisco de Elizade, editor, Uniform Rules of European Contract Law?: A Critical Assessment, Oxford: Hart Publishing, →ISBN, part III (Uniform Rules to Bridge the Gap between the Common Law and the Civil Law), page 135:
    It is a remarkable story of how the EU has managed to create an entire acquis that ensures that the whole of Europe speaks about consumer contract using the same terminology and policy framework.
2. (international law) The accumulated legislation and decisions of any international community.
  - 2016, Gerhard Erasmus, Trudi Hartzenberg, Paul Kalenga, “Patterns of African Regional Integration: The Tripartite and Continental Free Trade Areas”, in Achim Gutowski et al., editors, Africa’s Progress in Regional and Global Economic Integration – Towards Transformative Regional Integration (African Development Perspectives Yearbook 2015/16; 18), Zürich: LIT Verlag, →ISBN, page 87:
    Acquis is a French term meaning "that which has been agreed". In the context of the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA) means that the negotiations should start from the point at which […] the COMESA, EAC and SADC trade negotiations have reached. Tariff negotiations and the exchange of tariff concessions would be among Member/Partner States of the Tripartite FTA that have no preferential arrangements in place between them. This will both preserve the acquis and build on it.