Download This PaperA Hybrid Methodology for the EU Principle of Consistent Interpretation
Statute Law Review 2018, 134-154
36 Pages Posted: 12 Dec 2016 Last revised: 13 Jun 2018
Date Written: December 10, 2016
Abstract
This article examines the legal methodology that courts have to employ when they construe domestic law in accordance with European Union directives. It demonstrates that the CJEU has set up autonomous “European methodological rules”. These rules apply together with national legal methods. The relationship between both regimes can be described with the concepts of overlapping, intervention and Europeanisation from the inside. The article thus holds that the doctrine of consistent interpretation possesses a hybrid methodology. The reanalysis of the CJEU’s case law offers answers to some unresolved questions. The article shows how consistent interpretation affects national principles of interpretation. It demonstrates the extent to which domestic judges are required to depart from traditional methods of construction and to what extent European methodological rules broaden the limits of the judicial function as accepted under national law. The article also refers to judgments of English and German courts to assess whether Member States’ courts apply and accept European methodological rules. The contra legem limit is defined and some of its misinterpretations in legal scholarship are highlighted.
Keywords: Conforming Interpretation, Consistent Interpretation, EU Directives, Legal Methodology, Statutory Interpretation, Europeanisation, Contra Legem
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