Effective judicial protection emerged as a EU law principle in the 1980s, operating alongside the Rewe principles of equivalence and effectiveness as a standard to assess national procedures for the enforcement of EU law. This article argues that the codification of effective judicial
protection in Article 19 TEU and 47 of the Charter, operated by the Lisbon Treaty, has stimulated an evolution of the principle, which is evident in the recent case law of the Court of Justice. Today, effective judicial protection operates not only as a procedural principle, but also as a
more substantive and structural one, and has generally acquired broader constitutional relevance. This evolution has crucial effects on the EU legal order: most importantly, it affects the division of competences between Member States and the EU, and between the Court of Justice and national
courts.
In December 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its awaited decision on the Taricco II case, responding to a preliminary reference from the Italian Corte Costituzionale. The latter, unhappy with the outcome of the earlier Taricco I decision, asked for a re-interpretation of Article 325 TFEU and threatened the Court of Justice with the possible activation of its controlimiti doctrine. The CJEU partially 'corrected' its previous ruling and prevented an open conflict between EU law and Italian constitutional law. This case note discusses the saga and its three episodes against the background of the growing constitutional conversation between top European courts. It argues that Taricco is a positive episode of judicial dialogue and may further contribute to its consolidation: on one hand, constitutional courts are increasingly willing to 'play the game' and refer to the CJEU under Article 267 TFEU; on the other, the Court of Justice seems more reactive than in the past to constitutional courts' claims and now considers them with increasing attention and detail. Finally, the case note reflects on the partially diverging languages for constitutional dialogue: national courts use the language of constitutional identity, while the CJEU prefers to refer to the 'common constitutional principles of the EU'.
Infringement actions and EU values – constitutional backsliding in Hungary and Poland – the role of the Court of Justice – judicial independence and Article 19 TEU – the Charter of Fundamental Rights – the toolkit to protect EU values – political and judicial mechanisms – a bottom-up approach
In the LM case, the CJEU was called to decide on whether systemic rule of law deficiencies in Poland could lead to the suspension of EU cooperation based on mutual trust, in particular under the European Arrest Warrant system. Building on its earlier decision in Aranyosi, the Court concluded that EAWs may be suspended only after the executing authority conducts a general analysis of the situation in the country concerned and an individual assessment of the specific situation of the applicant. For some, the decision was a disappointing one, as the Court failed to take a clear stance on the Polish constitutional crisis. This chapter argues, on the other hand, that the Court reached a balanced decision: while it is true that it confirmed the strict Aranyosi test, it also sent some key messages on the crucial importance of the rule of law and judicial independence for the EU and underlined the red lines of European constitutionalism. Furthermore, a different line of cases that originated from the groundbreaking decision of the Court in the ‘Portuguese judges’ case seems much more promising for the protection of EU values. Thus, rather than a constitutional moment for the Union, LM was ultimately an intermezzo between the two main acts of the rule of law play before the Court of Justice.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.