The constitutionality of the European Union Act

Abstract

This thesis deals with the multiple dimensions of Malta's accession to the European Union (EU) and the high degree of both misfit and conflict related to the issue. Malta's path to EU membership was characterized by fundamental doubts which still linger in the present days. This work deals with the major contentious issues raised locally and which formed the arms to the political battle that characterized the preaccession period. The issues here are considered from a legal perspective and the political argument is avoided as much as possible. The question of how the EU impacts on Malta's sovereignty on the one hand, and the constitutionality of Malta's accession to the EU on the other, are at the centre of this study. Does accession to the EU, affected by means of the EU Act, impinge on the basic principles incorporated in the Maltese Constitution? Did Malta make the amendments necessary, if any, to its Constitution in view of membership? The discussion attempts to put forward the various, sometimes conflicting answers, to these questions by firstly dealing with the impact of the EU legal order on the legislative, executive and judicial powers of the Maltese institutions. Secondly, the discussion deals with the primacy principle of EU law and its effect, if any, on the status and application of the supremacy principle as enshrined in the Constitution of Malta. The discussion then turns on to inquire on the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe - it being the latest development in EU law. It focuses on the developments brought about by the Treaty vis-a-vis the legislative, executive and judicial powers and there again vis-a-vis the doctrine of primacy of EU law. Finally, a discussion on the possible implications of Malta's accession to the EU and the Constitutional Treaty in relation to the country's status of neutrality is undertaken.