Supremacy of the Constitution and primacy of European Community law

Abstract

The European Union is a community of law based on the ‘rule of law’ principle, whose main essence is the creation of a supranational legal system for which the Member States themselves have limited some of their own powers in favour of this supranational organisation - a legal order whose parameters of validity and efficacy are directly based on the founding Treaties. A characteristic feature of the European order is its primacy over Member State’s domestic law while respecting the supremacy of the Constitutions - which has been defended from the outset by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This is particularly evident when it comes to laws and regulations with the status of law that can be overruled by national courts if they contradict the rules of European law. EU law does not revoke national law, but rather displaces it. Whether the primacy of Community law over national law is not recognised, State’s liability may arise as a result of a breach of European Union law.