Suing the European Union in the UK: Tomanović et. al. v. the European Union et. al.

Abstract

In its judgment of 13 February 2019 in the case of Tomanović et. al. v. the European Union et. al., the English High Court of Justice dismissed several claims based on human rights violations by EULEX Kosovo. Although the High Court’s dismissal was ultimately based on the lacking incorporation of the Treaty provisions on the Common Foreign and Security Policy into domestic law, the judgment contains extensive obiter dicta discussing key Union law matters. In this Insight I summarize, contextualize and reflect critically upon the High Court’s reasoning. In particular, I focus on the extent of the Court of Justice’s jurisdiction over – and the application of the Foto-Frost principle to – the CFSP.

Keywords: International Organizations, European Union, domestic courts, Common Foreign and Security Policy, Art. 274 TFEU, Art. 275 TFEU, immunities, accountability

JEL Classification: K33