Authority Of EU Law Flashcards
Where does the authority of EU law originally come from?
The authority of the EU stems from the confidence placed in it by the signatories of the Treaty of Rome.
Why is EU law’s authority difficult to impose?
The EU is not fully democratically accountable.
There is nobody to enforce the EU’s authority.
What is the legal basis for the authority of EU law?
The ‘New Legal Order’ from Van Gend en Loos and Costa v ENEL
EU law is autonomous
What did Van Gend en Loos say?
EU law is directly effective.
EU law confers rights on individuals to be invoked in their own states.
Individual states limited their rights by signing up to the EU.
What was the justification for Van Gend en Loos?
Functionalism - rules have to be uniform in order to be followed and the internal market to be achieved.
European integration is ‘Sui generis’ - citizens are at the heart of EU Law and deserve strong protection.
How does Chalmers define the authority of EU Law?
EU is not an agreement between states that binds people’s but an agreement between peoples that binds states.
What does Weiler say about authority of EU Law?
The focus on individual rights means that protecting collective rights is made more difficult.
But this is necessary for having 500,000,000 enforcers of EU law.
What did Costa v ENEL say?
EU law is supreme over national law.
Any EU law norm ranks higher than any national law.
The Effet Utile of EU law would be diminished if EU law was not supreme.
What did Melloni say?
EU law even has primacy over constitutional laws.
What does the German Court say about the authority of EU law?
Kompetenz-kompetenz applies to EU law, it cannot transfer competence to decide on its own competence.
Ultimate sovereignty rests with the national constitution.
What is the fundamental rights review?
National courts do not believe that EU law can override fundamental rights outright.
If EU law guarantees equivalent standards of fundamental rights as national law, the court will not review EU law for compatibility.
Which cases developed the fundamental rights review?
Frontini in the Italian Court.
Solange I and II in the German Court.
What is the ultra vires review and where was it developed?
German Constitutional Court in Honeywell - the court can find the EU to have acted ultra vires if it’s breach is manifest and significant.
The standard is set very high - the EU has never been deemed ultra vires, however the decision in the OMT case is still outstanding.
What is the strongest challenge to the Union based on national democracy?
The substantive democracy review - from the German Constitutional Court in the Treaty of Lisbon Judgment.
Certain policy areas (fiscal law/education) are so integral to the identity and self-determination of the state that the EU should have no authority to affect them.
Where does the substantive democracy review have its grounding?
In the identity provision of the Lisbon Treaty.
