Application of Union Law by the National Courts

As was seen, direct effect of Union rules means that: "[I]t is the national courts which are entrusted with __________ the legal protection which citizens derive from the _____________ of the provisions of [Union] law. Accordingly, in the absence of [Union] rules on the subject, it is for the ___________ legal system of each Member State to designate the courts having ______________ and to determine the procedural conditions governing actions at law intended to ensure the _____________ of the rights which the citizens have from the direct effect of [Union] law, it being understood that such conditions cannot be less _____________ than those relating to similar actions of a domestic nature”.

1. What courts must ensure the protection of citizens’ rights?

2. What do the EU citizens derive their right to legal protection from?

3. What legal system must confer jurisdiction upon courts?

4. What else must be determined domestically?

Exercise 8. In the text below certain parts have been taken out and reshuffled. Restore the text by filling in the gaps meaningfully. What information does the text contain?

Direct effects doctrine

1. It can apply to treaties, directives, regulations, decisions and international agreements.

2. For example, although the general Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the WTO Agreements are binding upon the Union and its member states, they have been construed by the Court not to have direct legal effects.

3. When asserting rights against other private parties, the “horizontal direct effect” of EU law applies.

4. The Court of Justice has noted that the vigilance of private litigants enforcing their rights is an important element of the European legal system.

The right to commence litigation in national forums must be given to the plaintiff by national law. In other words, European law has not (as yet) been interpreted to create national causes of action (основания для предъявления иска). What it does do, according to the “direct effects doctrine,” is give litigants the right to raise many issues (“Euro-defenses” and “Euro-offenses”) in national courts and tribunals. In doing so, individuals often function as guardians of the founding treaties. When challenging member state governments, private parties rely on the “vertical direct effect” of EU law. Americans might analogize this role to that of “private attorney general,” a law enforcement technique adopted in a number of United States statutes.

The direct effect (l’effet utile) doctrine is, to a very large degree, a product of jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice. When any of these measures are of direct effect, this impact generally commences from the date of its entry into force. But the direct effects doctrine is not automatically applied. Both the Council of ministers and the European Council tend to issue resolutions or declarations when there is a political consensus but no desire to adopt legislation. For the most part, the Court of Justice has held such acts incapable of creating direct legal effects in the member states.

Vocabulary Notes:

1. to commence litigation – начинать судебное разбирательство, рассмотрение дела в суде, судебное производство

2. private attorney general – частное лицо, выдвигающее обвинение по вопросу, имеющему общественную важность; частное лицо, действующее как обвинитель: an informal term usually used today in the United States to refer to a private party who brings a lawsuit considered to be in the public interest, i.e., benefiting the general public and not just the plaintiff. The person considered "private attorney general" is entitled to recover attorney's fees if he or she prevails. The rationale behind this principle is to provide extra incentive to private citizens to pursue suits that may be of benefit to society at large. (From Wikipedia)

3. law enforcement technique – правоприменительный метод, прием

4. vigilance – бдительность

5. jurisprudence – (зд.) судебная практика

6. to construe [kэns’tru:] – толковать, интерпретировать

Exercise 9. Suggest synonyms of the words and expressions in bold and translate them into Russian. Paraphrase the highlighted words in the text using the synonyms that better fit the context. Sometimes a more appropriate synonym can be found, and sometimes the words in the text are totally misused. Then discuss in pairs how and to what extent this text contributes to your knowledge about the direct effects doctrine of Union law.

to indicate
to demand
in respect of
to cancel
sphere
obligatory
to endow
in accordance with
to guarantee
to invoke
drawback