DMEU - 12 exque Judges role

What role do judges play in European integration, and in what ways has the Court of Justice shaped the trajectory of EU integration? 1p

Role of judges

• common law ( judges interpret )

• Civil law ( parliamentary power )

• Ensuring EU law is interpreted and applied the same in every EU country; ensuring countries and EU institutions abide by EU law.

• empowerment of courts ( national and supranational ( human rights )

  • institutions iahve been created to counter the fascisme. and have reshaped the sovereignty beyond the state

  • = strenghtened the power of the judges

court and members

• Court of Justice: 1 judge from each EU country, plus 11 advocates general

• General Court: 2 judges from each EU country

national judges act as eyes and ears of the EU legal system.

• overtime the court went far beyond it’s initial power. It’s ruling have promoted integration

the self emporwment of the court

related to market integration. the CJEU rulings have gone beyond what states have expected.

but MS have supported —> create spill over

• some decisions of the court have accelerated process of integration. all cases have been decided regarding the market and based on treaties.

EUCJ context

benefitted from an overreaching geopolitical contxet that supported the expenses of the expansions court authority

1. the integration post war era

—> the court was part of the package that MS have to accept.

Ms agree that they need the ECJ to enhance the credibility of their commitments , to integrate and to solve the collective action probelmes

Place ?

The ECJ is the most trusted European, institutions .

in the bound Ms created fro the ECJ, there is substantial room for maneuvering. That can been used to provide deeper integration?

Driving Market Integration

The Court used its authority to accelerate the creation of the Single Market:

Negative Integration (Deregulation): the Court struck down national rules that acted as barriers to the free movement of goods, effectively "deregulating" the market from the bench.

Triggering Legislation: By striking down national rules, the Court often forced the European Commission and Council to pass new EU-level regulations to replace them, a process known as positive integration.

Evolving Activism and Constraints

While the Court was "audacious" and activist during the 1960s-1980s,

—> it became more cautious in the 1990s.

Pushback: As its rulings began to touch on sensitive political areas (like social security or rule of law), it faced increased contestation from national constitutional courts (e.g., in Germany and France) and national governments.

Institutional Insulation: Despite this, the CJEU remains the most trusted EU institution. Because changing a Treaty to override a Court ruling requires unanimity among all Member States, the Court is largely insulated from political interference.