EU law

• treaties

  • primary sources of EU law
  • includes 'founding treaties' that created the EU - Treaty of Rome 1957
  • 'accession treaties' that enlarge the EU to include new member states
  • 'amending treaties' that extend the scope of the EU - Lisbon treaty 2007
  • by signing a treaty member states agree to create new laws, which meet the principles and aims laid down in treaties
  • divided into articles which are directly applicable, if contain rights on which individuals can rely, they have both vertical and horizontal direct effect - Van Gend en Loos, Marshall v Southampton
• Treaty of Rome 1957

  • established the 'common market' (which is a trading organisation to enable commence between European treaties) which eventually became the European Union.
• Treaties of Accession

  • when a new member joins the EU - gives some sovereignty to the EU.
  • was signed in 1972 when the UK, Denmark and Ireland joined on 1st January 1973
• Amending treaties

  • Treaty on European Union 1992 (Maastricht Treaty) which introduced provisions for a shared European citizenship, and for the intro for a single currency and for common foreign security policies.
• Treaty of Lisbon 2007

  • amended both the Treaty of Rome and the Treaty on the European Union.
• treaties

  • while UK was a member of EU, any treaty made by the EU automatically became part of UK law and could be relied on by individual citizens.
  • the same applied in every Member State. once a treaty was signed, it instantly becomes law in every member state.
• regulations

  • secondary source made by the Council, commission and parliament acting together under Article 288
  • directly applicable in all member states and they cannot pick and choose which regulations they implement.
  • seek to achieve uniformity of laws across all MS and are 'binding in their entirety'
  • if there is a conflict between member states law and a regulation, the regulation has primacy.
  • regulations can have both horizontal and vertical direct effect.
• directives

  • secondary source by council, commission, parliament acting together under authority of article 288
  • legislative act, sets out goal all EU countries must achieve within a time frame. up to each MS to write + bring into effect own laws to reach goals.
  • MS have to implement EU directives into own law with time limit. if fails to do this they're in breach of obligation.
  • once directive is written into national law, indivi citizens can rely on rights under national law.
  • if directive isn't implemented by req date, indiv citizens rely on terms of directive against MS
  • vertical direct