Chapter 21- EU law Flashcards
How did the EU form?
- UK joined in 1973, which was then called the European Economic Community
- European Economic Community was originally set up by Germany, France, Italy and more in 1957 by the Treaty Of Rome
- The name EU was introduced by the Treaty of EU in 1993
- In 1980s and 90s more countries joined such as Greece and Spain
- In 2004 another 10 countries joined, including Poland
- There are now 28 member states
- In 2016 UK voted to leave, and will take effect under Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union
What are the institutions of the EU?
- In 2009 the Treaty of Lisbon restructured the EU, there are now 2 treaties ; Treaty of EU and Treaty of the Functioning of the EU
- The main institutions are: Council of the EU, European Commission, European Parliament and the court of justice of the EU
What is the Council of the EU and what do they do?
- Gov of each member sends a representative
- The foreign minister is usually a country’s main representative
- The minister responsible for the topic under consideration will normally attend the meetings of the Council
- Member States takes it in turns to provide the President of the Council for a 6 month period
- The county is the principal law making body of the Union
- Voting in the council is, in 80% decisions, by qualified majority which is reached if 2 conditions are met; 55% of Member States vote in favour and the proposal is supported by Member states at least 65% of the total EU population
What is the European Commission?
- 28 Commissions who are supposed to act independently of their national origin (each member state has one)
- They are appointed for a 5 year term and can only be removed in this time by a vote of censure by the European Parliament
- They each head a department with special responsibilities for 1 area of Union policy
- It has several functions; proposals for new laws, guardian of treaties as it ensures that members implement them properly and it’s responsible for the administration of the Union and has executive powers to implement the Unions budget
What is the European Parliament?
- Members are directly elected by the electorate of the Member States every 5 years
- number of MEPs from each country is determined by the size of the population of the country
- The members don’t operate in national groups but political ones
- It meets once a month for sessions that can last up to 1 week
- It has standing committees which discuss the commissions proposals, and then report for debate
- The parliament has a co-legislative role on an equal footing with the Council in most areas
- It also decides on international agreements, whether to admit a new member state and reviews the Commissions work
What is the Court of Justice of the EU and who assists/sits in the court?
-The court must ensure that in the interpretation and application of the Treaty the law is observed
-It sits in Luxembourg and has 28 judges from each state
-For a full court 11 judges will sit, sitting as one in particular cases by the Statute of the Court and where the court considers that a case is of exceptional importance
-Judges are appointed under Article 253 from those who are eligible to the highest judicial posts in their own
country
-Each judge is appointed for 6 years and can be reappointed for another 6 year term
-It is assisted by 11 Advocates General who also hold office for 6 years
What are the Court of Justice of the EU’s key functions?
- ensure that the law is applied uniformly in all member states
- it does this by performing 2 key functions:
1) hears cases and decides whether member states have failed to fulfil obligations under the Treaties (example= Re Tachographs: Commission v UK)
2) hears references from national courts for preliminary rulings on points of EU law
Why are preliminary rulings in the Court of Justice of the EU important?
As rulings made by the Court of Justice of the EU are then binding on courts in all Member States, which ensures that the law is indeed uniform throughout the EU
What does an Article 267 do/request?
- requests preliminary hearings concerning; treaty interpretation, validity and interpretation of acts and interpretation of statutes
- it states that where there is no appeal from the national court, then such a court must refer points of EU law to the Court of Justice of the EU
- UK supreme court must refer questions of EU law since it is the highest appeal court in the system
- It then returns to the original court for it to apply the ruling as it only makes preliminary rulings on the point of law and doesn’t decide the case
How does the Court of Justice of the EU operate?
- Compared to English courts there are several differences including:
1) The emphasis on presenting cases ‘on paper’- here lawyers have to present their arguments in a written form and there is less of a reliance on oral presentation
2) The use of Advocate General- this independent lawyer isn’t used in the English court system
3) Judges deliberations are secret and where necessary the decision will be made by a majority vote, and when the judgement is delivered it will be written down and signed by all panel judges
4) Isn’t bound by its previous decisions and it prefers the purposive approach
What are the sources of EU law?
Primary=Treaties
Secondary= Regulations, Directives and decisions
What are the EU treaties?
Treaty of Rome
Treaty of Lisbon
How do EU treaties effect the UK?
all Treaties made by the Union are automatically part of the UK as a result of the European Communities Act, and are directly applicable, yet also allow citizens to rely on it (direct effect)
What are the 2 types of direct effect?
- Vertical= individual can use EU legislation to sue the UK or public body
- Horizontal= individual can use EU legislation against another individual
How is indirect effect in contrast to direct effect?
Its where national courts are required to interpret their own law in line with provisions of EU law
