Summary EU Law - Enforcing EU Rights (Notes & Exam Guidance)
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Course
GDL
Institution
GDL
These notes cover EU institutions and the enforcement of EU rights as taught on the EU Law module of postgraduate law conversion courses (the GDL/PGDL). They can also cover topics on introductory EU Law papers taught on UK undergraduate Law degrees (LLBs).
As well as notes, this document include...
- The Court of Justice of the European Union, refers collectively to 3 bodies
(now 2):
- The European Court of Justice (ECJ)
- Luxembourg, senior EU court
- Judges appointed by agreement from Member States
- Jurisdiction:
- Ensuring EU Law is applied consistently among members
- Actions against members to determine if they have failed to
fulfil their obligations under the Treaties
- The only institution that can give authoritative rulings on
interpretation of EU Law - via Article 267 TFEU
- The General Court
- Junior court of first instance to the ECJ, created in 1989
- Created to assist with ECJ workload
- The Civil Service Tribunal
- Heard first instance European civil service disputes
- Ceased to exist in 2016
- The European Commission
- 27 Commissioners, 1 per MS, 5 year terms, 1 Commission President
(Ursula von der Leyen)
- As per Article 245(1) TFEU
- Commissioners independent
- Role - ‘guardian’ of the Treaties
- How the Commission is appointed every 5 yrs (Article 17(3) and (7) TEU):
- European Council nominates new Commission President via
qualified majority voting (QMV)
- Parliament must them approve nominee
- European Council + Commission President-designee select other
Commission members
- European Council adopts list of nominees by QMV then submits to
European Parliament for approval
- Parliament votes to accept Commission as a whole
- After Parliamentary approval, new Commission appointed by
European Council via QMV
- Functions - Article 17(1) TEU
- Day to day running of the EU
, - Drafting and proposing legislation
- Ensure MSs meet obligations under EU Law
- Can refer MSs to the ECJ if they suspect EU Law breaches
- Administers and enforces EU Competition Law
- Negotiates international agreements btw EU and other countries
- Votes by simple majority
- The Council (of the EU/of Ministers)
- 1 representative (minister) per MS
- Not fixed, ministerial representatives change depending on the topic per
meeting
- Presidency rotates per MS every 6 months according to Article 16(2) and
(9) TEU
- Assisted by Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) which
prepares meeting agendas
- Function:
- Main decision-making body and coordinates EU economic policies
(according to Article 16(1) TEU and Articles 290 and 291 TFEU).
- Will make decisions on different policies depending on what type of
Minister meeting it is - e.g. business secretaries vs environment
ministers.
- Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) procedure:
- Majorities called if supported by 55% of Member States which
account for >65% EU pop
- QMV only applies for the Council if the Treaty article doesn’t state
otherwise
- Blocking minority can be established by MSs representing >35% EU
pop, min 4 MSs, OR at least 13 MSs (most MSs)
- Above voting rules hold unless a Treaty specifies otherwise
- The European Parliament
- Directly elected nationally per MS
- 705 MEPs after UK withdrawal
- Voting procedure: by majority
- Number of MEPs per MS proportional to pop size
- Article 14(1)-(3) TEU
- Functions:
- Supervisory - can veto President and Commission votes
- Legislative - Council is main legislative EU body, but Parliament is
involved in legislative procedures
, - The European Council
- Developed out of summit conferences of Heads of State or Government.
- Functions:
- Defines EU’s political priorities/aims, does not make laws (the
European Commission does)
- Coordinates EU development, make key political decisions, and
establish policy guidelines
- As per Article 15 TEU
- The European Court of Human Rights
- Strasbourg
- Judges from each State which is a party to the European Convention on
Human Rights of 1950 (ECHR)
- Jurisdiction:
- Observes ECHR standards of behaviour by bound States towards
individuals
- Since 2 Oct 2000, ECHR rights have been directly enforceable in
domestic courts, incorporated into domestic law via the Human
Rights Act 1998
EU Court Binding/Persuasive Powers in the UK:
- Court of Justice of the EU/European Court of Justice (ECJ)
- Binds all UK courts (in matters of EU law - under ss 2,3 European
Communities Act 1972)
- Note that the ECJ is not bound by its own previous decisions as it is a civil
law institution
- ECHR (highly persuasive)
- s.2 of the Human Rights Act 1998 states ECHR decisions are
persuasive (not binding) in matters relating to Convention Rights
- Recently, the HoL (now Supreme court) departed from an ECHR
decision and instructed lower courts to follow Supreme Court
decisions in the event of a conflict.
- Via Kay and others v. Lambeth LBC [2006] UKHL 10
- Facts:
- Appellants occupied land owned by the council
which was leased to a trust so the appellants
became tenants of the trust
- Council terminated the lease and sought
possession
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