The Court Of Justice Of The European Union

Abstract

The influence of the Court of Justice in the development of EU law has been defining and, in some respects, unprecedented in the history of legal systems. The Court has shaped EU law by establishing the distinct constitutional features of the EU legal order, protecting fundamental rights, defining the internal market, and expanding EU competence. In short, it has had an overwhelming influence in shaping both the economic and the political constitution of the EU. The importance of the judiciary in the development of EU law is not accidental. It has been the result of treaty design, judicial behaviour, and the cooperation of political actors. From its inception, the project of European integration was based on grand objectives, the adoption of framework treaties, and the establishment of new institutions, including an independent court. Treaty design facilitated institutional empowerment and favoured ‘integration through law’ as the underlying narrative. From an early stage, the Court saw itself as the exponent of the normative foundations of integration as a process of catharsis emerging from the ideology of nationalism that led to the Second World War. By establishing direct effect, the Court essentially abolished the state monopoly to grant rights, thereby creating a nascent