Van Gend En Loos: Creation of New Legal Order in European Court of Justice
EU Law Essay
Question: In retrospect was the European court of justice correct when it stated that in Van Gend en Loos (1963) a new legal order had been created? Discuss.
The judgement in Van Gend en Loos has undoubtedly had a huge impact upon the European Union and the way that it functions. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) claimed that the judgement had established a “new legal order” whether this is true is debatable but it is certainly a fundamental case in EU case law. The phrase “new legal order” was first used in Van Gend en Loos, so it was hard to know if that was what it was… Discuss what legal order means etc. The principle of direct effect (or immediate applicability) enables individuals to immediately invoke a European provision before a national or European court If this was the case it is not just Van Gend en Loos that established a new legal order, there were also other contributing factors. Namely those established by the Treaty of Rome.
The three European communities, with the Economic Community as the most prominent, were established by the 1951 Treaty of Paris and the 1958 Treaties of Rome. As an Integral part of this new system, The European Court of Justice created a large amount of new case law, it was stated that this case law was different to International law and so a new legal order had been established. It was different due to the involvement of the individual. This is reflected via the provision in the Treaty of Rome that elections to the European Parliament should now be direct which allows citizens of every member state to directly participate. Although the Parliament had existed before, the extent to which it was representative was doubtful, this change increased the importance of the European Parliament and therefore gave more force to the legislation that it drafted. The direct elections give the European parliament a legitimacy that other international institutions lack and it was argued that this new found legitimacy
Question: In retrospect was the European court of justice correct when it stated that in Van Gend en Loos (1963) a new legal order had been created? Discuss.
The judgement in Van Gend en Loos has undoubtedly had a huge impact upon the European Union and the way that it functions. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) claimed that the judgement had established a “new legal order” whether this is true is debatable but it is certainly a fundamental case in EU case law. The phrase “new legal order” was first used in Van Gend en Loos, so it was hard to know if that was what it was… Discuss what legal order means etc. The principle of direct effect (or immediate applicability) enables individuals to immediately invoke a European provision before a national or European court If this was the case it is not just Van Gend en Loos that established a new legal order, there were also other contributing factors. Namely those established by the Treaty of Rome.
The three European communities, with the Economic Community as the most prominent, were established by the 1951 Treaty of Paris and the 1958 Treaties of Rome. As an Integral part of this new system, The European Court of Justice created a large amount of new case law, it was stated that this case law was different to International law and so a new legal order had been established. It was different due to the involvement of the individual. This is reflected via the provision in the Treaty of Rome that elections to the European Parliament should now be direct which allows citizens of every member state to directly participate. Although the Parliament had existed before, the extent to which it was representative was doubtful, this change increased the importance of the European Parliament and therefore gave more force to the legislation that it drafted. The direct elections give the European parliament a legitimacy that other international institutions lack and it was argued that this new found legitimacy