Sources of Eu Law a Level

For decades and centuries, legal principles have been derived from customs. The divine right of kings, natural and legal rights, human rights, civil rights, and common law are the earliest unwritten sources of law. Canon law and other forms of religious law form the basis of law derived from religious practices and teachings or sacred texts; This source of law is important if there is a state religion. Historical or judicial precedents and jurisprudence may modify, or even create, a source of law. Laws, rules and regulations are the tangible source of codified and enforceable laws. First, Article 4 of the 2004 Citizens` Rights Directive states that every citizen has the right to leave a Member State with a valid passport. This has historical significance for Central and Eastern Europe, when the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall denied their citizens the freedom to leave the country. [240] Article 5 confers a right of entry on every citizen subject to national border controls. Schengen countries (not the UK and Ireland) have completely eliminated the need to present documents and police searches at borders. These reflect the general principle of free movement set out in Article 21 TFEU. Secondly, Article 6 allows any citizen to reside in another Member State for three months, whether employed or not. Article 7 allows stays of more than three months with proof of “sufficient resources”.

not become a burden on the social assistance system.” Articles 16 and 17 give a right of permanent residence after 5 years without conditions. Thirdly, Article 10(3) TEU requires the right to vote in local constituencies of the European Parliament, irrespective of the citizen`s place of residence. The European Union is a Union based on the rule of law, which has established a comprehensive system of remedies and procedures to enable the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to review the legality of acts of the EU institutions (Article 263 TFEU). Treaties and general principles are at the top of the hierarchy and are called primary law. Following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, the Charter of Fundamental Rights was given the same value. International agreements concluded by the European Union are subject to primary law. Secondary legislation is the next step in the hierarchy and is only valid if it is compatible with the acts and agreements that prevail over it. The doctrine of the primacy of EU law is a fundamental pillar of the EU legal order and seeks to ensure the unity and consistency of EU law. The CJEU formally insists that EU law takes absolute precedence over the domestic law of the Member States and has always claimed ultimate authority in determining the relationship between EU law and national law. In the landmark cases van Gend en Loos v. Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen and Costa v.

ENEL, the CJEU developed the fundamental lessons of the direct effect and primacy of EU law. According to those doctrines, EU law takes absolute precedence over national law and that primacy must be taken into account by national courts in their decisions. The CJEU has upheld these doctrines in subsequent cases. In particular, in Internationale Handelsgesellschaft, it argued that EU law also takes precedence over the fundamental rights guaranteed by national constitutions. The protection of European consumers has been a central element in the development of the EU`s internal market. Article 169 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union allows the EU to apply the ordinary legislative procedure to protect the “health, safety and economic interests” of consumers and to promote the right to “information, education and association in order to safeguard their interests”. [297] All Member States can afford a higher level of protection and a “high level of consumer protection” is considered a fundamental right. [298] In addition to these general principles and outside specific sectors, there are four main directives: the 1985 Product Liability Directive, the 1993 Unfair Commercial Contracts Directive, the 2005 Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the 2011 Consumer Rights Directive, which impose information and withdrawal rights on consumers. Overall, the law aims to ensure that EU consumers are entitled to the same minimum rights when shopping, and largely follows consumer protection theories developed in California and the Consumer Bill of Rights enacted by John F. Kennedy in 1962. The Court of Justice has repeatedly said that more consumer rights are needed (than in commercial contracts) because consumers tend to be misinformed and have less bargaining power.

[299] While the free movement of workers was at the heart of the first agreement of the European Economic Community, the development of European labour law was a gradual process. The original Ohlin Report of 1956 recommended that labour standards should not be harmonised, although a general principle of non-discrimination between men and women was included in early contracts. The lack of workers` rights is increasingly seen as inadequate, as a “race to the bottom” in international trade is possible if companies can relocate jobs and production to low-wage countries. Today, Article 147 TFEU obliges the EU to “contribute to a high level of employment by promoting cooperation between Member States”. [309] This did not lead to legislation that typically requires taxes and tax incentives for significant changes, whereas the European Central Bank`s monetary policy was highly controversial during the eurozone crisis. Article 153(1) allows the EU to apply the ordinary legislative procedure to a list of areas of labour law. In particular, this excludes wage regulation and collective bargaining. [310] In general, four main areas of EU regulation of workers` rights concern (1) individual workers` rights, (2) anti-discrimination legislation, (3) rights to information, consultation and participation in the workplace, and (4) rights to job security. In almost all cases, the EU follows the principle that Member States can always create more advantageous rights for workers. The basic principle of labour law is that the unequal bargaining power of workers justifies replacing property and contract rules with positive social rights so that people can earn a living to participate fully in a democratic society. [311] EU competences generally follow the principles codified in the 1989 Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers[312] and included in the “social chapter” of the Maastricht Treaty.

Originally, the UK had decided not to do so due to opposition from the Conservative Party, but was accepted when Labour won the 1997 general election in the Treaty of Amsterdam. The second main measure was the 1993 Directive on unfair terms in consumer contracts. [302] Section 3(1) states that a term is unfair and non-binding if it is not “individually negotiated”| and “if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, this results in a significant imbalance between the rights and obligations of the parties arising from the contract, to the detriment of the consumer”. The Court has repeatedly pointed out that, as stated in recital 16, the Directive `is based on the idea that the consumer is in a position of inferiority compared to the seller or supplier, both in terms of bargaining power and level of knowledge`. [303] Strongly distorted terms must be considered contrary to “good faith” and therefore unfair. [304] For example, in RWE AG v. Verbraucherzentrale NRW e.V. The clauses in the gas supply contracts allowing RWE to unilaterally change prices were not sufficiently transparent and therefore unfair on the part of the Court.

[305] In Brusse v. Jahani BV[306], the Court stressed that clauses in a lease under which tenants pay €25 per day are likely to be unfair and should be completely void without replacement if they are not replaced by more precise mandatory provisions in national legislation. In Aziz v. Caixa d`Estalvis de Catalunya, after the global financial crisis, the Court recommended that even the conditions for repossession of houses in Spain be examined by national courts to verify their fairness. [307] In Kušionová v. SMART Capital a.s. , the Court held that consumer law must be interpreted in light of fundamental rights, including the right to housing, when a dwelling can be repossessed. [308] Since consumer law operates through directives, national courts have the final say in applying the general principles of the Court`s case-law. Although the European Union does not have a codified constitution[27], like any political body, it has laws that “constitute” its basic governance structure. [28] The main constitutional sources of the EU are the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which have been approved or respected by the governments of the 27 Member States. The Treaties define the EU institutions, list their powers and responsibilities and explain the areas in which the EU can legislate through directives or regulations.

The European Commission has taken the initiative to propose legislation. [29] During the ordinary legislative procedure, the Council (i.e. ministers of the governments of the Member States) and the European Parliament (elected by citizens) can make amendments and give their consent for legislation to be adopted. [30] ⇒ The CJEU has drawn general principles from several sources: there are three sources of EU law: primary law, general principles of EU law and secondary legislation (detailed in the hierarchy of norms). The Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) are the two main sources of Union law. The TEU, which is an agreement between all Member States, focuses more on the principles of democracy and human rights and brings institutions together, while the TFEU broadens all the principles and policy areas in which the EU can legislate.