This book is based on a selection of papers presented at the Conference in Malmu, Sweden, which was organized by the Swedish Network for European Legal Studies in cooperation with the Faculty of Law of the University of Lund. The purpose of the conference was to analyze general principles and their scope in the EU legal order with special emphasis on their role in the creation of a "jus commune europaeum". The impact of the general principles of Community Law at the national level was analyzed and also how these principles have been transformed into the national legal systems. Also discussed was the creative process behind the shaping and further development of the general principles and their application. Due to their complex nature, the general principles offer a more or less unlimited field for theoretical legal studies. At the same time, the general principles play a very important role in legal practice, not least when used as instruments for the protection of individuals and firms against too far-reaching measures taken by the European institutions or Member States.