European Union Law

How Commissioners are appointed

Each member state had one commissioner appointed for five year terms. they are supposed to act independently from national interests and will be given a role similar to the cabinet such as education , culture or education.

The role of the EU commission

The Commission puts forward new proposals for law, It provides checks on the member states to ensure they are taking steps to implement treaties and if they are not is able to take meber states to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), it is responsible for the administration and budgeting of the EU

How Members of the European Parliament are chosen

The electorate of Member states elects MEPs in elections which take place every five years.

How MEPs operate

MEPs do not align with parties from the same Member State but with parties from across the EU with the same political stance

Role of the European Parliament 

The EUP meets normally once a month for about a week. It has standing committees that discuss ideas put forward by the commission and then put it before the EUP for debate. The EUP and Council co-legislate so the EUP can reject, pass or amend legislation put forward by the Council. It also works on international agreements and the admission of new member states.

The role of the Council of the EU

The council is the principal law making body. It amends and adopts laws alongside the EUP. The foreign minister of member states is normally sent but it can be any minister meaning a council discussion on Agriculture will have Agriculture ministers present for example. Twice a year a summit of the government heads will happen to discuss top issues. Head of the council rotates every 6 months being provided by a different member state each time.

Membership requirements of the Court of Justice in the EU (CJEU)

Judges are selected from the highest level judges in member states or who are leading academic lawyers. A judges term is six years and their term can be renewed after that. The court sits in Luxembourg and has one judge from each member state.

Role of the Advocate Generals in the CJEU

There are 11 advocate generals who also hold their office for six years. They receive the case first and have to research with complete independence and impartiality, the facts of the case and then present publicly their reasoned conclusions on the cases to ease the court in the performance of it’s duties.

Role of the CJEU

• To hear cases on the application of treaties in member states - The Commission v United Kingdom (1979)

• To hear references from national courts where an area of EU law has never been applied before and needs clarification

• As the court is so high their decisions are binding across the whole EU

Treaties in the EU

Treaties are a primary source of EU law. Any treaty, once signed, is directly applied to member states and can be relied on by all citizens. The Treaty of Rome formed the Common Market in 1957 and the Treaties of Ascension 1973 created the EU. For example under the Treaty of Rome, EU citizens can rely on rights such as freedom of movement and freedom of trade.

Regulations

These are ‘binding in every respect and directly applicable in each member state’ as set out under Article 288 TFEU. These are made by the Council. Member States cannot pick and choose which ones to apply creating a level of legal uniformity across the EU. e.g Re Tachographs Commission v United Kingdom

Directives

This sets out a goal the Member State must reach within a set time. It is up to the Member states individually to set out laws to reach this goal. An example of a directive is the Consumer Rights Directive that abolished hidden fees and improved online purchasing rights. The UK implemented directives through statutory instruments or, on occasion, an Act of Parliament as was done here or by the Privy Council

Treaties and Regulations in the UK since BREXIT

Since 2020 new treaties no longer apply to the UK. Whether or not treaties made before then still do has not been decided. In Van Gend en Loos (1963), the CJEU established that provisions of the Treaty of Rome were capable of creating rights which could be enforced in the national courts of Member States which is called DIRECT EFFECT. Costa v ENEL confirmed primacy of EU law over national. In Internationale Handelsgesellschaft it was decided EU law cannot be challenged over conflict with national law. In Bulmer v Bollinger it was decided a referral for interpretation to the CJEU could only be done when absolutely necessary.

Vertical direct effect Directives

This is where a directive grants a right to the Member States citizens but the State fails to implement it and their right might then be forfeited. The citizen can then take the arm of the state at fault to the CJEU for failing to implement their rights. In Francovich v Italian Republic the State failed to institute a directive protecting wages from insolvency meaning F lost out. The state was liable for this and owed F compensation. Marshall v Southampton Health Authority.

Horizontal direct effect

This is where a directive has authority between private individuals or bodies. This is extremely rare and under Duke v GEC Reliance Ltd (1988) private companies can rely on national laws as they do not have a part in the application of directives. However, under the Kucukdeveci principle, directives which give rise to fundamental human rights principles can be used with horizontal direct effect.

Indirect effect

This is where the state has failed to implement the directive at all or where they have done it incorrectly. Von Colson and kamman v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen the CJEU ruled that national courts should align national law with directives as far as national lives gives them discretion to do so.

Statutory Interpretation

The CJEU uses and encourages all Member States to use the Purposive Approach when interpreting legislation

The concept of supremacy of EU law

Under Van Gen den Loos and Costa v ENEL EU law is supreme to all nation states laws and no laws can be passed that contravene on EU law. This was seen in R v Secretary of State for Transport where a UK law on fishing ownership was blocked by EU supremacy. Since BREXIT is seems the UK has regained it’s sovereignty and is able to pass whatever law it wants.