Consequences of community law for the national judge

Abstract

Until shortly after the end of the Second World War, our concept of the State and our political life had developed almost entirely on the basis of national constitutions and laws. It was on this basis in our democratic States that the rules of conduct binding not only on citizens and parties, but also on the State and its organs were created. It took the complete collapse of Europe to give a new impetus to the idea of a new European order, at least in Western Europe. The foundation stone of a European Community was laid by the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman in his declaration of the 9th May, 1950, in which he had put forward the plan he had worked out with Jean Monnet to pool Europe's coal and steel industries. He envisaged a historic initiative for an organized and vital Europe which was indispensable for civilization and without which the peace of the world could not be maintained. This plan became a reality with the conclusion of the founding Treaty of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) on the 18th April, 1951 in Paris and its entry into force on the 23rd July, 1952. A further development came a few years later with the Treaties of Rome of the 251 h March, 1957, which created the European Economic Community (EEC ), and the European Atomic Energy Community ( EURATOM ). The founding States of these Communities were Belgium, The Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, France and Luxembourg. Over the forty years since then, the Community has steadily grown and expanded. Since the beginning of 1995 it embraces 15 Member States, and others are waiting to join, among which is Malta which applied in 1990. The Community today is no longer confined to coal and steel, nor even just the single market, but has become a genuine people's Union. The vision of 1950 of a peaceful, prosperous Community is still relevant today. Although the road to the union of the peoples of a free Europe is still a long one, the next milestones are already coming into view in the shape of the Intergovernmental Conference taking place this year and the prospect of enlargement to the East. This Community has been set up by the same Member States and is based on the same fundamental objectives, as expressed in the preambles to the above mentioned three Treaties, i.e. (1) to create 'an organized and vital Europe', (2) 'to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe', and (3) to combine their efforts to 'contribute ..... to the prosperity of their peoples'. By a resolution of the European Parliament of the 16th February, 1978, it was proposed that the said three Communities should be designated 'The European Community'. Also, common usage, both in the media and in everyday life, has long since come to regard these three Communities as one. The Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty), signed by the Heads of State or Government of the Member States in February, 1992, provides for the expression "European Community' to replace 'European Economic Community'. The EEC Treaty becomes the EC Treaty. The point was to reinforce perceptions of the qualitative transition from a Community with primarily economic purposes to a fuller political union. In fact, the legal order created by the European Community has become an established component of our political life. Each year, on the basis of the Community Treaties, thousands of decisions are taken that crucially affect the lives of the Community's Member States and of their citizens. The individual has long ceased to be merely a citizen of his town, district or State. He is also a Community citizen. For this reason alone, it is of the highest importance that the citizen of the Community should be informed about the legal order that affects him personally. Yet the complexities of the Community and its legal order are not easy for the citizen to grasp. This is partly due to the wording of the Treaties themselves, which is often somewhat obscure and the implications of which are not easy to discern. […]