On Legality in Criminal Matters between Primacy of EU Law and National Constitutional Traditions. A Study of the Taricco Saga

Abstract

The present article retraces the history of the “Taricco saga” before the European Court of Justice, which put in the spotlight the clashes between the primacy and effectiveness of EU law in the field of the protection of the financial interests of the EU, and the constitutional identities of the Member States with regard to fundamental rights in criminal law. Starting from the analysis of the first firm stance of the European Court in the Taricco I judgment, to the Italian Constitutional Court’s reaction in defence of its own interpretation of the principle of legality in criminal law, until the final shift of the Court of Justice towards a more tolerant position in M.A.S. and M.B., this article welcomes such outcome and argues for a pluralistic approach to the principle of primacy of EU law, that includes fundamental rights and takes into due consideration the specificities of criminal law.