Introduction

Abstract

Abstract The introduction presents the changes and developments that primacy of EU law more generally, and the introduction of the preliminary reference procedure specifically, created for national judicial hierarchies. Since the start of the European project, the Court of Justice has played a central role in shaping the relationship between the Union and national law, specifically through empowering, and obliging, national judges to hear cases involving EU law brought before them. The principles of direct effect and primacy called into question the previously undisputed supremacy of national constitutions in the national hierarchy of legal norms. These principles, combined with the preliminary reference procedure, undermined the position and influence of national courts entrusted with safeguarding the constitution and its supremacy. The preliminary reference procedure placed a strong emphasis on judicial review as a method of ensuring the effectiveness of EU law. This, in turn, caused a more general decentralization of constitutional review at the national level. The introduction further presents the concept of the judicial triangle that will be used as an analytical tool in the book, to map power relations between the Court of Justice, constitutional courts, and ordinary national courts, which ensue from the developments in jurisprudence of constitutional conflict. The introduction finally sets out the main definitions that will be used throughout the book, the scope of analysis, and the outline of the book.