Saturday, March 24, 2007
Supremacy of EU Law
In view of the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty of Rome being celebrated this weekend, I have recently revisited my European Law work and have of course found much of interest worth discussing.

I have been in the company of a number of non-EU persons that have expressed some interest in how the EU works. Possibly, among the EU citizens, there still remains a little doubt as to the position of the states with regard to the Union. So, I have fished out the following quote from my records, which I think explains matters in the clearest sense possible:

In addition the task assigned to the Court of Justice under article 177, the object of which is to secure uniform interpretation of the Treaty by national courts and tribunals, confirms that the states have acknowledged that community law has an authority which can be invoked by their nationals before those courts and tribunals. The conclusion to be drawn from this is that the Community constitutes a new legal order of international law for the benefit of which the States have limited their sovereign rights, albeit within limited fields, and the subjects of which comprise not only member states but also their nationals. Independently of the legislation of Member States, Community law therefore not only imposes obligations on individuals but is also intended to confer upon them rights which become part of their legal heritage . These rights arise not only where they are expressly granted by the Treaty, but also by reason of obligations which the Treaty imposes in a clearly defined way upon individuals as well as upon the member states and upon the institutions of the Community .

 

Case 26/62 NV Algemene Transport –en Expeditie ONderneming van Gend & Loos v Netherlands Inland Revenue Administration

This citation is very concise and clearly indicates that Member States have ceded some of their sovereignty to the Union. This they have only been able to do in virtue of the fact that they are in fact sovereign. Such a cession would not be possible in the absence of sovereignty. However once it has been ceded, the competence lies in the hands of the EU to take action on those matters for which the Member States have transferred sovereignty. Often, this is exercised by the three institutions - Council, Commission and Parliamenty - via the various law-making processes contemplated in the EC Treaty.


legal
3/24/2007 12:48:03 PM (Romance Standard Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  |  Trackback
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