EU 8 - Court of Justice of the European Union

CJEU

• Status: Judiciary → at the intersection of politics & law

• Aim: to ensure that „the law is observed“ in the interpretation & application of the treaties of the Union (Art. 19 (1) TEU)

• Structure: 2 courts - the European Court of Justice (ECJ) & the General Court

• Composition

  • ECJ: Preliminary rulings, certain direct actions & appeals; 1 judge from each EU country, 11 advocates general (6-year term - renewable): The judges hear cases & adopt decisions, whereas AGs deliver impartial & independent opinions prior to the final decision, their opinions are not binding on the judges, but have a real impact on the final outcome of a case; Judges & AGs do not represent their MS

  • General Court: Most direct actions; 2 judges from each EU country (6 year term - renewable)

Jurisdiction of CJEU - Preliminary Rulings

• Any national court can refer questions about the interpretation & application of EU law to the Court of Justice, the CJEU will then provide the relevant interpretation (the preliminary ruling) & the national court will use it to decide the case; it is not an appeal but rather a cooperative & non-hierarchical process aimed at clarifying specific issues of interpretation & application of EU law

• Individuals or any legal persons → National court → CJEU → National Court

Jurisdiction of CJEU - Direct Actions

• these begin & end in the EU courts, it can be brought by individuals & „legal persons“, including the EU & MS

i) Judicial review (annulment procedure): Reviews the legality of acts - on the grounds of lack of competence or infringement of a procedural requirement → Principles of subsidiarity & proportionality

ii) Infringement proceedings: COM (and in some cases, MS) can bring infringement proceedings against MS that fail to comply with EU law (e.g. COM vs Poland, COM vs Hungary)

iii) Actions for damages: Compensation for harm caused by EU institutions, bodies or their servants, breach of fundamental rights, employment disputes between the EU & its staff

Powers & Functions (5)

• Interpreting the law (preliminary rulings/judicial review)

• Enforcing the law (infringement proceedings)

• Annulling EU legal acts (actions for annulment)

• Ensuring the EU takes action (actions for failure to act)

• Sanctioning EU institutions (actions for damages)

• Court of Justice: Preliminary rulings, certain direct actions & appeals

• General Court: Most direct actions

CJEU - Judicial Activism

• Judicial activism: courts not merely interpreting laws but actively shaping policy or expanding legal principles, often beyond the law‘s literal text

• Expansion of EU legal authority & European integration: The CJEU has interpreted the treaties teleologically (purposively), often prioritizing the objectives of EU integration over strict adherence to the treaty text, some of the foundational doctrines of EU law that helped further European integration are due to the CJEU‘s judicial activism

i) The principle of direct effect

ii) The primary of EU law

The principle of direct effect

EU law has direct effect on individuals & companies, regardless of whether it is incorporated into national law by the MS, this allows individuals & companies to directly enforce rights granted by EU legislation in their national courts, even if their MS has not properly incorporated those EU laws into domestic law

Primacy of EU law

European Union law takes precedence over the conflicting national laws of its MS, when a conflict arises between an aspect of EU law & an aspect of law in an EU MS (national law), EU law will prevail