Court of Justice of the European Union and Ukrainian Legal Order: Some Pre-accession Considerations
Nataliya Haletska
Ukrainian Catholic University , Ukrainahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9920-6217
Anastasiia Savchuk
Ukrainian Catholic University , UkrainaAbstrakt
As the European Union candidate country (hereinafter the EU), Ukraine is one step away from becoming an EU Member State. From this point on, the country will be subject to the influence of EU institutions, including the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter the CJEU). It is suggested that upon the accession of Ukraine, the CJEU’s impact will be comparable to the influence on legal orders of other EU Members States provided necessary preparatory steps, such as training for judges, are taken. It is established that the main functions of the CJEU are to interpret and ensure the uniform application of EU law in each EU Member State, to ensure compliance with EU law by EU countries and institutions, to ensure respect for the rights and freedoms of individuals, to provide clarifications to national courts, and to promote “positive integration” and “negative integration” of EU Member States. With respect to the above-mentioned functions, it is argued that the CJEU will become an effective tool for Ukraine after it accedes to the EU. It will facilitate the harmonization of national legislation with EU standards through the application of precedents by national courts, influence the activities of legislative bodies, and help prevent future complaints by becoming an additional “quasi-supervisory” body in Ukraine. It will also provide interpretation of the EU law at the request of national courts through the preliminary rulings and procedures, protecting human rights and freedoms by enabling individuals to apply to the CJEU for protection. At the same time, arguably, Ukraine will also impact the functioning of the CJEU by increasing the caseload and appointing judges from Ukraine as well as potentially Advocate-General. Given these potential implications, certain preparatory actions, like preparing a cadre reserve, may be considered at the present moment. Finally, the authors argue that even before Ukraine’s accession, the CJEU has an indirect impact on the Ukrainian legal order. It is suggested that constitutional amendments, as well as certain institutional changes like the establishment of an impartial judicial system and empowering a Ukrainian state body with powers to execute CJEU decisions, will need to take place prior to the accession, which is a demonstration of the CJEU’s indirect influence.
Słowa kluczowe:
Court of Justice of the European Union, court system, preliminary ruling, interpretation, harmonizationBibliografia
Albi, Anneli. “Estonia’s Constitution and the EU: How and to What Extent to Amend It?.” Juridica International, no. 7 (2002): 39-48. Accessed October 15, 2023 . www.juridicainternational.eu/article_full.php?uri=2002_VII%20_39_estonias-constitution-and-the-eu-how-and-to-what-extent-to-amend-it.
Bielykh, Yaroslav et al. Zvit za rezultatamy hromadskoho monitorynhu zastosuvannia Verkhovnym Sudom praktyky Yevropeiskoho sudu z prav liudyny [Report on the results of public monitoring of the Supreme Court’s application of the European Court of Human Rights case law]. USAID, Prohrama USAID «Nove pravosuddia», HO «Instytut prykladnykh humanitarnykh doslidzhen», 2019.
Borchardt, Klaus-Dieter. The ABC of Community Law. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 2017.
Council of the EU. “EU Court of Justice: nine judges of the General Court appointed.” Press release 997/21, 2021.
Court of Justice of the European Union. “Court of Justice of the European Union: Ensuring the Protection of EU Law. Publications and Electronic Media Unit, 2023. Accessed October 15, 2023. https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2020-05/cour_garante_qd-03-20-178-en-n.pdf.
Da Cruz Vilaça, José Luís. “Preliminary ruling (Article 267 TFEU).” Concurrences. Accessed July 9, 2023. www.concurrences.com/en/dictionary/preliminary-rulings-art-267-tfue#auteur.
Dupont-Lassalle, Julie. “La «subsidiarité juridictionnelle», instrument de l'intégration communautaire?.” Droit et Société 80, no. 1 (2012): 47. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://www.cairn.info/revue-droit-et-societe1-2012-1-page-47.htm?ref=doi. (Crossref)
European Pravda. “European Commission Acknowledges Ukraine’s Progress in Implementing ‘Candidate’ Recommendations.” June 22, 2023. Accessed October 15, 2023. www.eurointegration.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/22/7164201/.
Frati, Camille, and Lex Kleren. “Slovenian Enigma at the Court of Justice of the EU.” Lëtzebuerger Journal, November 24, 2022. Accessed August 9, 2023. https://journal.lu/en/slovenian-enigma-court-justice-eu.
General Activity of the Court of Justice (2018-2022).” CURIA 2023. Accessed August 9, 2023. https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2023-03/stats_cour_2022_en.pdf.
Halmai, Gábor. “National(ist) Constitutional Identity?: Hungary’s Road to Abuse Constitutional Pluralism.” EUI Department of Law Research Paper, no. 8 (2017). Accessed October 13, 2023. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2962969. (Crossref)
Honan, Jessica. “The European Court of Justice as a Tool of European Integration.” ANU Undergraduate Research Journal 12, no. 1 (2023): 53–59. Accessed October 15, 2023. https://studentjournals.anu.edu.au/index.php/aurj/article/view/730.
Hromadske. “‘Chymalo vyklykiv’. Yak v Ukraini prosuvaietsia sudova reforma” [‘A Lot of Challenges’. How Judicial Reform Is Progressing in Ukraine]. August 10, 2023. Accessed October 15, 2023. https://hromadske.ua/posts/chimalo-viklikiv-yak-v-ukrayini-prosuvayetsya-sudova-reforma.
Humeniuk, Vitalii. “Harmonizatsiia ta unifikatsiia zakonodavstva Ukrainy vidpovidno do standartiv Yevropeiskoho Soiuzu.” [“Harmonisation and unification of Ukrainian legislation in line with EU standards”]. Pravove zhyttia suchasnoi Ukrainy: u 3 t. (Helvetyka 2020): 74-76.
Komarova, Tetiana. “Sud Yevropeiskoho Soiuzu ta mizhnarodnyi pravoporiadok” [“The Court of Justice of the European Union and the international legal order”]. Aktualni problemy mizhnarodnykh vidnosyn, no. 108 (2012): 219–224219.
Komarova, Tetiana. “Vplyv Sudu YeS na konstytutsionalizatsiiu prava Yevropeiskoho soiuzu” [“The influence of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the constitutionalization of European Union law”]. Yevropeiske pravo no. 1 (2012): 197-203.
Krommendijk, Jasper. National Courts and Preliminary References to the Court of Justice. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://www.elgaronline.com/monobook-oa/9781800374164.xml. (Crossref)
Kuras, Gerhard. “Preliminary Ruling Procedures.” International Labour Organisation. Accessed October 15, 2023. www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/how-the-ilo-works/organigramme/governance/labour-law/judges/WCMS_719393/lang--en/index.htm.
Lasserre, Bruno. “National Courts and the Construction of Europe: United in Diversity.” RED 2, no. 3 (2021): 53–6152-57. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://www.cairn-int.info/article.php?ID_ARTICLE=E_RED_003_0056https://www.cairn.info/revue-red-2021-2-page-56.htm?ref=doi.
Lippert, Barbara. “The EU and the Second Large-Scale Eastern Enlargement – Déjà Vu and Innovations,” in Ukraine’s Possible EU Accession and Its Consequences, edited by Nicolai von Ondarza. German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), 2022. Accessed October 15, 2023. www.swp-berlin.org/en/publication/ukraines-possible-eu-accession-and-its-consequences#table-of-contents.
Mańko, Rafał. Role of Advocates General at the CJEU. Briefing, European Parliamentary Research service 2019.
Mańko, Rafał. The EU as a Community of Law: Overview of the Role of Law in the Union. Briefing, European Parliamentary Research service, 2017.
Prechal, Sacha. “Article 19 TEU and National Courts: A New Role for the Principle of Effective Judicial Protection?.” In Article 47 of the EU Charter and Effective Judicial Protection, Volume 1, edited by Matteo Bonelli, Mariolina Eliantonio and Giulia Gentile, 11–26. Hart Publishing, 2022. Accessed October 15, 2023, https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph-detail?docid=b-9781509947973&tocid=b-9781509947973-chapter1. (Crossref)
Publications Office of the European UnionPOotEU. “Summarized Document: 12016E288 (European Union Directives).” EUR-Lex – Access to European Union Law. Accessed June 10, 2023. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/european-union-directives.html.
Riehle, Cornelia. “70th Anniversary of EU Court of Justice.” EUCRIM, December 15, 2022. Accessed June 10, 2023. https://eucrim.eu/news/70th-anniversary-of-eu-court-of-justice/.
Solonenko, Oleh ta inshi. “Tema 5. Status Yevropeiskoi Rady ta inshykh orhaniv YeS,” [Topic 5. The Status of the European Council and Other EU Bodies], Multymediinyi navchalnyi posibnyk “Pravo Yevropeiskoho Soiuzu” [Multimedia Training Manual “Law of the European Union”]. Accessed October 15, 2023. https://arm.naiau.kiev.ua/books/eulaw/info/lec5.html.
Starr-Deelen, Donna, and Bart Deelen. “The European Court of Justice as a Federator.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 26, no. 4 (1996): 84. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://academic.oup.com/publius/article-abstract/26/4/81/1884830?redirectedFrom=fulltext. (Crossref)
Türk, Alexander. “Harmonisation | Legal Guidance | LexisNexis.” LexisNexis | Legal and Professional Solutions and Products. July 28, 2020. Accessed June 9, 2023. www.lexisnexis.co.uk/legal/guidance/harmonisation.
Uitz Renáta. “National Constitutional Identity in the European Constitutional Project: A Recipe for Exposing Cover Ups and Masquerades.” Verfassungsblog, 11 November 2016. Accessed October 13, 2023. https://verfassungsblog.de/national-constitutional-identity-in-the-european-constitutional-project-a-recipe-for-exposing-cover-ups-and-masquerades/.
Violations by Article and by State in 2022.” European Court of Human Rights, 2023. Accessed August 9, 2023. www.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr/Stats_violation_2022_ENG.
Ukrainian Catholic University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9920-6217
Ukrainian Catholic University