European Union law
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(Redirected from Directive (European Union law))
The European Union is unique among international organizations in having a complex and highly developed system of internal law which has direct effect within the legal systems of its member states. In contrast to nations such as the United States, European nations subscribe to the principle that international law adopted by a nation overrides national law, and hence it is the case European Union law overrides the national laws of its member states.
There are three sources of Union law:
primary legislation: the treaties
secondary legislation: regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions made by the Union's institutions in accordance with the treaties
decisions of the European Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance
It is more correct though, to make the distinction between European Community (EC) law and European Union law, as it is only EC law that overrides the national laws of the member states. The European Community constitutes one of the 'three pillars' of the European Union.
Contents [showhide]
1 Primary legislation: the treaties
2 Secondary legislation
3 Legislative procedures
4 Acquis
5 Specific topics in EU law
6 External links
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Primary legislation: the treaties
Main article: Treaties of the European Union
The primary legislation, or treaties, are effectively the constitutional law of the European Union. They lay down the basic policies of the Union, establish its institutional structure, legislative procedures, and the powers of the Union. The treaties that make up the primary legislation include:
the ECSC Treaty of 1951 (Treaty of Paris)
the EEC Treaty of 1957 (Treaty of Rome)
the EURATOM Treaty of 1957 (Treaty of Rome)
the Merger Treaty of 1965
the Acts of Accession of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark (1972)
the Budgetary Treaty of 1970
the Budgetary Treaty of 1975
the Act of Accession of Greece (1979)
the Acts of Accession of Spain and Portugal (1985)
the Single European Act of 1986
the Treaty of Maastricht of 1992
the Acts of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland (1994)
the Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997
the Treaty of Nice of 2001
the Treaty of Accession 2003 of 2003
The various annexes and protocols attached to these treaties are also considered a source of primary legislation.
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Secondary legislation
Secondary legislation include regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions.
Secondary legislation also includes interinstitutional agreements, which are agreements made between European Union institutions clarifying their respective powers, especially in budgetary matters. The Parliament, Commission and Council are capable of entering into such agreements.
The classification of legislative acts varies among the First, Second and Third Pillars.
In the case of the first pillar: Secondary legislation is classified based on to whom it is directed, and how it is to be implemented. Regulations and directives bind everyone, while decisions only affect the parties to whom they are addressed (which can be individuals, corporations, or member states). Regulations have direct effect, i.e. they are binding in and of themselves as part of national law, while directives require implementation by national legislation to be effective. However, states that fail or refuse to implement directives as part of national law can be fined by the European Court of Justice.
Directives and regulations can comprise of a mixture of maximum harmonisation and minimum harmonisation clauses, and can be enforced on either a home state or a host state basis
All EU legislation must be based on a specific treaty article, which is referred to as the "legal basis" of the legislation.
The European Convention's Working Group on Simplification, identified in total 15 legal instruments of the European Union. These, divided in the three pillars of the European Union are the following:
Community Pillar Common Foreign and Security Policy Police and Judicial Co-operation
in Criminal Matters
Regulations
Directives
Decisions
Conventions
Principles and general guidelines
Common strategies
Joint actions
Common positions
Decisions