The Making of European Law: Exploring the Life and Work of Michel Gaudet † Anne Boerger* and Morten Rasmussen* ABSTRACT This article studies the emergence of European law by exploring the life and career of Michel Gaudet, a French jurist who, behind the scene and out of the political spotlight, played a central role in fostering the European legal order in the 1950s and 1960s. As director at the legal service of the European Communities executives, Gaudet signifi- cantly contributed to the legal revolution that quasi-constitutionalized the European Treaties in the mid-1960s. Yet, he remains one of the least known figures of the early history of the European integration. Relying on his rich personal archives and on inter- views with members of his family, this article investigates his personal and professional life experiences, with the aim of understanding how these experiences shaped his ideas, and influenced his thinking and actions in the legal field. This allows us to better understand the background and ideological outlook of one of the most influential fig- ures behind the making of the European legal order, and consequently the intellectual roots of this legal transformation of Europe. It also affords us a unique glimpse into the social and intellectual world of the first generation of civil servants who shaped the new European institutions in the 1950s and 1960s. INTRODUCTION At the end of the summer of 1952, a little-known jurist from the French Conseil d’  Etat left the office of Jean Monnet somewhat startled. This jurist was Michel Gaudet. Recommended to the new president of the High Authority (HA) by his friend and colleague from the Conseil d’  Etat, Maurice Lagrange, the 37 year old Gaudet had immediately fallen under the spell of the man, who over the last two years had been busy putting Europe onto an uncharted path with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Monnet, for his part, was less impressed by Gaudet, * Anne Boerger, University of Alberta, Morten Rasmussen, University of Copenhagen † This article has a long history since its first draft in 2011. We have benefited tremendously from the comments of Wolfram Kaiser, Antonin Cohen, Antoine Vauchez, Mikael Rask Madsen, Bill Davies, Alexandre Bernier, Ann-Christina Knudsen, Alexandra Kemmerer and Karen-Gram-Skjoldager. But most importantly, our utmost sincere thanks go to Michel Gaudet’s family members, who opened the doors of their summer house, Saragosse, to us in August 2012 in order to discuss the legacy of their father and grandfather. Their hospitality, openness and spirit were truly remarkable and greatly facilitated the work that led to this article. V C The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com  51 American Journal of Legal History, 2017, 57, 51–82 doi: 10.1093/ajlh/njw013 Advance Access Publication Date: 10 November 2016 Article Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ajlh/article-abstract/57/1/51/2721013 by guest on 25 April 2019