Compromise(d)? – Perspectives of Rule of Law in the European Union

Márton Sulyok

doi:10.47078/2021.1.207-227

Márton Sulyok Department of Constitutional Law, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University of Szeged

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47078/2021.1.207-227

Keywords: rule of law, TEU, Article 2, Article 7, constitutional courts, European integration, European Union, principals, values, national competences, conferral, statehood, international standard, compromise, dialogue

Abstract

This paper introduces different perspectives of rule of law in the European Union starting out of the assumption that fear and (common) economic interests continue to be the primary motivator of European integration as to the European Union. The analysis touches upon the problematic tension between national specificities of the rule of law developed organically inside state frameworks of constitutionalism, through the practice of national constitutional courts and the practice and standards of international organizations and institutions in this matter. Starting out of problems brought about by open statehood and the “dialogical” development of rule of lawin the European Union, the paper also describes the institutions, concepts and processes relevant to the enforcement of the value of rule of law in the EU.

References

Arnold, R. (2016) Limitation of Sovereignty by European Integration: The German Experience in a Comparative View. In Arnold, R. (ed, 2016): Limitations of National Sovereignty Through European Integration. Springer, pp. 1-13., https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7471-0_1

Arnold, R. (2020) The Rule of Law in the Development of Constitutional Law.

Blanke, H-J., Mangiameli, S (eds., 2013) The Treaty on European Union (TEU) A Commentary. Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 109-157., https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31706-4

Borg, V.P. (2020) Malta's wobbly constitutional and rule of law reform. Constitutionnet (27 July 2020).

Carp, R. (2014) The Struggle for the Rule of Law in Romania as an EU Member State: The Role of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. Utrecht Law Review. 2014/1, pp. 1-16, https://doi.org/10.18352/ulr.252

Fekete, B., Czina, V. (2015) Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union - is it really a nuclear weapon? April 2015.

Gros, D. (2020) The European Council's compromise on the Rule of Law Regulation. 17 December 2020.

Hofmeister, H.H. (2008) The EU constitution is dead - long live the reform treaty" - but will it make the EU more democratic, efficient and transparent? Revue québécoise de droit international, 2008/21-1, pp. 149-164. https://doi.org/10.7202/1068941ar

Jakab, A. (2019) What Can Constitutional Law Do Against the Erosion of Democracy and the Rule of Law? On the Interconnectedness of the Protection of Democracy and the Rule of Law. (September 16, 2019). Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law & International Law (MPIL) Research Paper No. 2019-15., https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3454649

Klabbers, J., Leino, P. (2013): Death by Constitution? The Draft Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe. German Law Journal, 2003/12, pp. 1293-1305. https://doi.org/10.1017/S207183220001213X

Kochenov, D., Pech, L. (2015) Monitoring and Enforcement of the Rule of Law in the EU: Rhetoric and Reality. European Constitutional Law Review, 11(3), pp. 512-540, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1574019615000358

Kochenov, D., van Wolferen, M. (2018) Dialogical Rule of Law and the Breakdown of Dialogue in the EU. EUI Working Paper Law, 2018/1.

Orbán, E. (2016) Article 7 TEU is a Nuclear Bomb - with all its Consequences? Hungarian Journal of Legal Studies. 57(1), pp. 119-128., https://doi.org/10.1556/2052.2016.57.1.9

Pech, L. (2016) Systemic Threat to the Rule of Law in Poland: What should the Commission do next?, VerfBlog, 2016/10/31, https://doi.org/10.17176/20161031-160113.

Pócza, K. (2019) Politikai rezsimek és a jogállamiság problémája. In: Böcskei, B - Szabó, A. (Eds., 2019): Hibrid Rezsimek. A politikatudomány X-aktái. Budapest: Napvilág Kiadó, pp. 153-155.

Scheppele, K.L. - Pech, L. - Platon, S. (2020) Compromising the Rule of Law while Compromising on the Rule of Law, VerfBlog, 2020/12/13, https://doi.org/10.17176/20201214-060045-0.

Tóth, Z. J. (2019) A jogállamiság tartalma. Jogtudományi Közlöny, 2019/5, pp. 197-212.

Uitz, R. (2020) Towards an EU Cast in the Hungarian and Polish Mould: Why the December 2020 Compromise Matters, VerfBlog, 2020/12/14, https://doi.org/10.17176/20201215-060044-0.

Varga, A. Zs. (2019) From Ideal to Idol: The Concept of the Rule of Law. Budapest: Dialóg Campus.

von Danwitz, T. (2014) The Rule of Law in the Recent Jurisprudence of the ECJ. Fordham International Law Journal, 2014/5, pp. 1312-1347.