Category: EU Law

General Principles of EU Law General principles of European law are unwritten rules used and applied in the interpretation of European Union law.  They involve principles of justice and principles designed to protect human rights.  They may fill gaps in law and make the law more coherent. General principles of community law derive from a […]

Treaties The European Union treatises are the constitution of the European Union and set out its powers and functions.  They are the primary source of law.  The Union must only act in accordance with the competences and powers provided for under the European Union Treaties. They are more than an international agreement.  They create an […]

Challenging Legality The EU treaty provides that the parties may claim in proceedings before the European courts that measures are invalid under the treaty for the reasons set out. The grounds for invalidity are as follows: lack of competence i.e. lack powers, infringement of essential procedural requirement, infringement of the treaty or rule of law, […]

Overview Community law becomes part of national law through a number of mechanisms. In some legal systems, international treaties can become part of domestic law through a process of ratification.  In other states, including Ireland international law does not become part of the domestic law until incorporated in by domestic legislation.  It binds the state […]

Preliminary Reference The Court of Justice has jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings on points of European Union law.  This covers matters of interpretation of the Treaties, EU legislation and measures by its institutions. Where a question is raised before any court or tribunal in a member state, it may refer the question of European Union […]

Damages and legal action A member state is liable in damages to individuals who suffer loss as a consequence of its infringement of European Community laws.  It must pay compensation in accordance with its domestic system of civil liability. This principle follows from the supremacy of European law and the practical necessity to give it […]

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Unilateral acts Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Article 289 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union They describe the main unilateral acts of the European Union (Article 288), and in particular those that are legal acts (Article 299). KEY POINTS What are unilateral acts? Among […]

International conventions and agreements of the EU SUMMARY OF: Article 216 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Article 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union They are treaties under public international law and generate rights and obligations for the contracting parties as negotiated between them. Unlike unilateral […]

Secondary legislation SUMMARY OF: Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) The Lisbon Treaty revised the classification of EU legal acts. In the interests of simplification, it reduced from more than 10 to 5 the number of legal acts at the EU institutions’ disposal. In addition, it enabled the […]

The non-written sources of European law: supplementary law Article 19 Treaty on European Union Article 19 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) describes the role and composition of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). It forms the legal basis of supplementary law by designating the CJEU as the ultimate court to […]

Flexibility in EU decision-making: passerelle clauses, brake clauses and accelerator clauses Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union INTRODUCTION The Treaty of Lisbon extends the ordinary legislative procedure and the system of qualified majority voting to a large number of policy areas. The objective is to contribute towards EU integration by rendering decision-making more […]

European Union opinions Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) Article 288 of the TFEU lists the 5 different types of legal acts EU institutions can adopt. These are: regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions. KEY POINTS Opinions are a way for an institution to make its views known […]

European Union decisions To exercise the EU’s competence, EU institutions may adopt 5 types of legal acts. A decision is a binding legal act which may either be of general application or may have a specific addressee. To exercise the EU’s competence, EU institutions may adopt 5 types of legal acts. A decision is a […]

Enforcement of EU law Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) It states that to exercise the EU’s competences, the EU institutions must adopt regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions. It also describes the specific nature of these legal acts with regard to their application and the extent to […]

Precedence of European law According to the precedence principle, European law is superior to the national laws of Member States. The precedence principle applies to all European acts with a binding force. Therefore, Member States may not apply a national rule which contradicts to European law. The precedence principle guarantees the superiority of European law […]

Publications Office Decision 2009/496/EC, Euratom — the organisation and operation of the Publications Office of the European Union It sets out the role, responsibilities, tasks and organisational structure of the Publications Office of the European Union. Role The Publications Office (OP) is an interinstitutional office whose task is to publish the publications of the EU […]

European Legislation Identifier (ELI) Council conclusions inviting the introduction of the European Legislation Identifier (ELI) Legislation is widely available online and accessible in various digital formats. However, the way in which legal information is organised and classified varies across different legal systems. The conclusions address this issue by endorsing the European Legislation Identifier (ELI), an […]

Accessibility of public sector websites and mobile apps Directive (EU) 2016/2102 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies It aims to make public sector websites and mobile applications more accessible, and to harmonise varying standards within the EU, reducing barriers for developers of accessibility-related products and services. This will […]

Better Law-Making — Agreement between EU institutions Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on Better Law-Making It aims to improve the way the EU makes laws by ensuring that the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission (‘the 3 Institutions’) are committed to sincere […]