Core Principles of EU Law: Autonomy and Supremacy Explained

T13: Principles of EU Law

1. Autonomy of EU Law

EU law is considered an autonomous legal order. While related to international and national law, it remains distinct and subject to its own internal logic.

• Van Gend en Loos (Case 26/62): The Court held that the EEC constitutes “a new legal order of international law” for the benefit of which States have limited their sovereign rights.
• Costa v Enel (Case 6/64): The Court stated that, by contrast with ordinary international treaties, the EEC Treaty created its own legal system.

2. Supremacy of EU Law

Although some EU Treaty articles impliedly require primacy, there is no express declaration of this principle in the Treaties. The logic for the supremacy of EU law was developed through the decisions of the Court of Justice (CoJ).

• Jurisdiction: Van Gend en Loos was instrumental in affirming the CoJ’s jurisdiction to interpret Community legal provisions, ensuring uniform interpretation across Member States and establishing the direct effect of EU law in national legal orders.
• Priority: In Costa v Enel, the Court expressly stated that Community (EU) law takes priority over all conflicting national provisions, regardless of whether the national law was passed before or after the relevant EU measure.

3. Consequences for National Courts

In Simmenthal (Case 106/77), the Court clarified the obligations of national judges:

• EU law must be implemented as effectively as possible.
• National courts must suspend any national legislation that may be incompatible with EU law until a final determination on its compatibility has been made.

4. Relationship with Constitutional Law

The Court has affirmed that law stemming from the Treaty, as an independent source, cannot be overridden by rules of national law—however framed—without being deprived of its character as Community law and calling the legal basis of the Union itself into question.