Has complexity of EU law increased?
Abstract
The paper examines computationally whether the directives and regulations (DaRs) enacted in the European Union (EU) between 1990 and 2024 show signs of increased complexity. In total, a little over 1,7 thousand DaRs are examined based on snowball sampling. Eight metrics are used: a readability index and counts of articles, recitals, references, tokens, nouns, verbs, and adjectives. All except the readability index scores indicated increased complexity. With a caveat of fluctuations--complexity has not increased monotonically, the paper provides empirical evidence to enrich the quality of academic and political debates on the complexity of law and its consequences, including an alleged simplification need.
Fields of Study & Subjects
European and International Law Studies
Taxation and Legal Issues
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Computer law & security review
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Volume
- 62
- Pages
- 106371–106371
- Publication date
- 2 July 2026
- Language
- EN