Maximum harmonisation is a term used in
EU law.
If a piece of law (usually a
directive but occasionally also a
regulation) is described as maximum harmonisation, national law may not exceed the terms of the legislation.
In practice, that prohibits
gold-plating of EU legislation when it is transposed into national law.
It may also result in the repeal or amendment of existing national law, such as the effect of the
Unfair Commercial Practices Directive on the British
Trade Descriptions Act 1968.
Traditionally it was fairly uncommon for European legislation to be drafted on such a basis. However,
deregulation
Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
has risen in the political agenda in the EU, as have concerns that member states occasionally use the national implementation of EU law as an opportunity to indulge in backdoor
protectionism.
It is quite common for a directive or recommendation to consist of a mixture of maximum harmonisation and
minimum harmonisation
Minimum harmonisation is a term used in European Union law.
Minimum harmonisation describes a piece of law (usually a directive but occasionally a regulation) that sets a threshold national legislation must meet. EU Member State national legislat ...
clauses.
References
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European Union law