European Union law

The European law is law in Europe.

The term applies in the image of " the conceptual roof for several legal orders ( international organizations) that have multiple intertwined " and " contemporary history / political turn - as well as EC / EU - part of the European integration will have to ".

A distinction is made between European law and European law in a broader sense in the strict sense. European law in the strict sense refers to the law of the European Union, also known as Union law and the European Atomic Energy Community, which is connected institutionally with the EU. [NB 1] The European law in a broader sense also includes the right of the other European international organizations.

It may, as the EU's intention according to Article 6 of the Treaty of Accession to the ECHR shows of Europe, no clear and unambiguous separation between the two orders of European law are drawn. (European) integration as "a state, process and target " is a constant change of subject, evolutionary process. The European law underlying subject matter is Europe is and will remain for the time being a " construction site ".

European law in the strict sense

Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Union law is referred to as Union law [NB 2] The right of institutionally affiliated with the EU legally but remain independent, European Atomic Energy Community is, however, an equal footing with EU law.

The Union law [NB 3] distinguishes itself by international law ( and the associated European law in the broader sense ) are two particular characteristics that concern his relationship with the national law of the Member States: its partial direct effect in the Member States without national implementing act and the primacy of Union law before the national law. Union law is a supranational legal order of its own kind, which is to be classified as supra-national, but not as an ordinary international law. The correct term since the Lisbon Treaty is therefore EU law, while Community law only has historical value.

In the area of ​​Common Foreign and Security Policy ( CFSP) these statements do not apply strictly. It's more organized international law; showing in particular because

• That decisions are taken unanimously,
• That the decisions of the Member States and the institutions of the Union, but not addressed directly to the citizens and
• That the Court of Justice of the European Union - except in the case of Article 275, paragraph 2, TFEU - has no jurisdiction in this area. It can therefore sued neither the obligations of the decisions in the CFSP still may be challenged acts in that area.

European law in the strict sense consists of the primary law and the subordinate secondary legislation; particular significance next to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice.

Primary law

The primary law is the central source of law of European law in the strict sense. It consists of the agreements concluded between Member States contracts ( start-up, audit and accession treaties ). Member States continue to have the " constituent power " and are therefore referred to as " masters of the treaties ". The most important primary law contracts are now the Treaty on European Union ( TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ( TFEU), also called contracts (Article 1, Section 2 Sentence 1 of the TFEU). In addition, the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom Treaty) is still valid. Even primary law include the protocols annexed to those Treaties which regulate each very specific concerns, but " as part of the contracts " against the EUV-/AEUV-Bestimmungen as legally equivalent apply (Art. 51 TEU).

Development of primary law

The primary law were formed in 1951 in Paris and signed in 1957 in Rome Treaties establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community, the institutions were merged in 1967 by the so-called merger agreement.

In the course of European integration, these agreements were amended several times; the main contract changes were:

• The Single European Act (1986, in force 1987)
• The Treaty of Maastricht (1992, in force 1993)
• The Treaty of Amsterdam (1997, in force 1999),
• The Treaty of Nice (2001, in force 2003) and
• The Treaty of Lisbon (2007, in force 2009)

The most fundamental change was the treaty establishing the European Union in the Maastricht Treaty. The European Union rested on three columns or pillars. The first pillar consisting of the European Communities: The communities practiced in certain policy areas transmitted by the Member States sovereign rights; therefore they spoke here of supranational areas ( policies ). The second and third pillars included the Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters and the Common Foreign and Security Policy; these areas are organized on an intergovernmental basis, that is, in these areas, the European Union does not exercise any jurisdiction from.

Unlike the European Communities, the European Union had itself initially no legal personality; this they only gained by the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Community, but not with the European Atomic Energy Community, merged the European Union.

Chronology

Content of primary law

The primary law contains the basic rules governing the functioning of the European Union. The European Court said, because of the functional similarity of primary law repeatedly with national constitutions also of the " constitutional charter ".

• The economic constitution

The economic system is geared to the production of the single European market: the fundamental freedoms ( free movement of goods, services, persons and capital) to protect the state cross- market economic activity before restrictions; for individual subjects (especially agricultural policy, the transport sector and energy supply ), there are special rules addressing the traditionally strong regulation of these areas by the Member States.

The addition of the TFEU contains important provisions on competition law: The Commission will control rights in the area of ​​competition law in the strict sense, awarded in antitrust law and state aid law.

A third field of European economic constitution form the provisions on economic and monetary union. To prepare the Monetary Union convergence criteria has been established, which are continuously reviewed. The economic union also reflected in the provisions on regional and structural policy of the Community, their funds will contribute to economic and social cohesion of the Member States.

• The allocation of authority

The competences of the European Union has over the nation-state on Special features: The community lacks a comprehensive jurisdiction; it is the "principle of conferral " (Article 5 § 1 of the EU Treaty ). However, some skills - particular alignment competences ( Article 114 and 115 TFEU) and the rounding of competence ( Article 352 TFEU ) - very broad. With the Treaty of Maastricht, therefore, the principle of subsidiarity was introduced under the subsidiarity principle must now the European Union will act only if a uniform regulation is necessary and jointly planned objectives can be better achieved (Article 5 § 2 of the EU Treaty).

The competencies of the community who are now the Union competences were over European integration, starting with the Single European Act (SEA), increasingly supplemented. Examples of newly introduced skills on 1 July 1986 ( EEA), the research and development policy, the policy of economic, social and territorial cohesion, the environmental policy and cultural policy. The following revision of treaties (Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon last ) have these skills constantly expanded by adding further policies.

• The institutional provisions

The institutional provisions (Art. 223 ff TFEU ) regulate the functioning of the institutions. While the competency standards, the competences of the European Union set (so-called associated competence ), the institutional rules govern the distribution of responsibilities of the bodies in the exercise of these powers (so-called organ competence); So together they control the legislative process.

• The External Relations

The rules on foreign relations concern, first, foreign trade relations and on the other the other foreign policy. Those falling within the Community's competence (Art. 207, 216 ff TFEU); this is part of the provisions of the EU Treaty (Article 11 et seq EU Treaty).

Within the framework of the common commercial policy, the ratio of European law to GATT is particularly unclear.

• Other contents of the primary law

Of importance are also the provisions on citizenship of the Union, the provisions concerning the area of ​​freedom, security and justice and the provisions on treaty amendments (Art. 48 EU) and accession of new Member States (Art. 49 EU). It is worth noting, moreover, that the TFEU contains numerous individual rights, the provisions on citizenship and fundamental freedoms ( the latter as part of the provisions of the FEU Treaty on European European Single Market).

Unwritten primary law

For primary law and the unwritten European law is usually counted (though the exact ranking of these unwritten rules is unclear). The unwritten primary law consists in particular of the so-called general principles of Community or Union law that created in a judicial development of the law of the European Court of Justice and which recognized in European law fundamental rights and fundamental constitutional principles are. As a rare form of unwritten primary law applies the EU common law. It is disputed whether general principles of international law can be classified as a legal source of European law.

Because of the importance of the unwritten law, the primary role of the European Court of Justice for the development of European law is hard to overestimate. Formally, he is responsible in the last instance for the review of acts of secondary legislation on primary legislation and the review of the law of the Member States on European Law ( primary and secondary legislation ). Process can be initiated by the institutions of the European Union, the Member States, the courts of the Member States or individuals in particular.

The European Court has in the performance of this task in many cases, but not limited to an interpretation of primary law, but made ​​a significant contribution to the legal order of the European Communities of the judicial development of the law. As examples like the case law on the Community legal order as sui generis legal system (van Gend & Loos ), the primacy of EU law over national law (Costa / ENEL ) and apply to the development of Community fundamental rights ( Stauder ). These and other cases exert significant influence on the nature of European law. These great importance to the case law justifies, at least in certain areas of a Case -law legal system to speak.

Some principles developed in the case law have on subsequent contract changes input into the primary law codified found. For example, the fundamental rights recognized by the European law have now been verschriftlicht in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and, the Treaty of Lisbon on Article 6 § 2 TEU in primary law.

Secondary legislation

Secondary law ( derived from primary law right ), are the acts on the basis of primary law adopted by the institutions of the European Union or the European Atomic Energy Community. [NB 4]

Secondary legislation can not violate the primary law. In a breach of the primary law of the European Court of Justice may declare secondary legislation null and void.

Article 288 TFEU provides for the following legislative acts:

• Regulation ( general system with direct national application; correspond in state law a law )
• Directive ( general system, which is implemented by Member States within a certain period in national law, it is binding as to the target, however, the Member State the choice of form and methods )
• Decisions ( binding rules in individual cases, a decision is only binding on the addressees referred to therein; correspond in state law an administrative act )
• Recommendations and opinions ( not legally binding )

For these instruments, certain methods of regulation are defined as the general procedure; many cases, however, the rules for individual policies of these control methods differ. The vast majority of the acts is implemented within the framework of comitology.

Among the different types of procedures, see: EU lawmaking

Not in Article 288 TFEU Acts referred to are concluded by the Union International treaties and so-called non-specific decisions.

European law in a broader sense

The European law in a broader sense includes - in addition to the European law in the strict sense - the right of other European organizations with a. Mention may be made especially of the Euro Europe with the European Convention on Human Rights and the EFTA. Other European legal agreements and organizations are:

• The European Social Charter
• The European Convention on Human Rights (to which the European Court of Human Rights was set up )
• The European Economic Area ( EEA)
• The Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters ( Lugano Convention )
• The European Agreement concerning the Work of Vehicles engaged in International Road Transport ( AETR)
• The Schengen Agreement ( before its inclusion into EU law by the Treaty of Amsterdam)
• The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE )
• The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• The Western European Union ( until its dissolution in 2010 )

These agreements are international agreements between the participating countries. Entitled Your right and therefore required only the states themselves, but produces of itself no direct legal effect in the domestic legal systems; this requires a national ( constitutional ) standard application (for example, Article 93 of the Dutch Constitution ) or a state act of transposition. They therefore differ from European law in the strict sense, may find the immediate without member state of transposition application ( as EU regulations and possibly EU directives ).

Between the European law in the broader sense Agreement and the European law in the strict sense, there are numerous interfaces. For example, the European Commission and the European Court of Justice are also active in the framework of the EEA Agreement. The European Court picks for the extraction of fundamental rights back on the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights; the Treaty of Lisbon ( therefore ) even the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights (Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Treaty on European Union).

Training in EU law

At many universities can European law be chosen as an elective in the first legal state examination ( partly in combination European and international law). So far, there is provided in Germany only for students of the European University Viadrina, take an exam requirement in European law in the first legal state exam. Some universities also provide accompanying programs for Europe and European Law lawyers, economists and postgraduate courses at the master's degree in European law.