Comitology and financial services.

Summary Comitology refers to the various committees that assist the European Commission in the preparation of measures implementing Community law. However, this institutional phenomenon has certain specificities in the area of financial services, since the so-called Lamfalussy reform. Indeed, this system relies on the expertise of two types of committees: the committees of national regulators and the committees composed of government representatives. The former play a considerable role in the development of Community law. While the mission of the regulatory committees is limited to issuing technical opinions and recommendations, an analysis of recent legislation shows their influence on the content of European standards. Their action is therefore not confined to mere expertise: the committees of regulators issue standards, which are not autonomously binding, but which are usually taken up by the European institutions and by the national authorities. From a theoretical point of view, the use of regulatory committees confirms the developments in modern law, in particular the complementarity of the various sources of law. The committees of regulators thus fall into the category of material sources, because they participate in the development of the content of the norm, by producing acts that do not have all the qualities of the rule of law. Beyond the formal aspects, the purpose of this research is also to show that the use of committees tends to reinforce the unification of national laws, thus going beyond an internal market based on minimal harmonization.