Has the Court of Justice overstepped its role?

Published in Published in E-Sharp on Wed 1st Feb 2006

In response to recent criticisms levelled at the Court of Justice aiming to question or even limit its role in the context of the debate on the Constitution, it must be emphasized that the EU legal order is by nature constantly evolving. Despite attempts to have us believe otherwise, EU law has now for sometime and will continue to have supremacy over national law and confers rights which individuals can invoke before their national courts. However, this does not mean that the Court can be accused of exceeding its function, namely "to ensure that (...) the law is observed" (Article 220 EC). It has in recent years refused to take on the task of enlarging the individuals' access to itself, a matter which it explicitly left to the Member States to agree upon in the context of the Constitution. The judgment on criminal penalties for violation of Community law does of course not permit the Commission to impose sanctions on citizens. Rather, it ensures that such sanctions, which are crucial in ensuring the uniform application of Community law, are decided upon by the Council and the European Parliament, subject to full judicial control. The red thread running through the entire case-law of the Court is the desire to give full effect to the text of the Treaties and to uphold the Rule of Law, not to usurp legislative powers.