Back to Square One - the Past, the Present and the Future of the Simmenthal Mandate

European Constitutional Law Network, 8th Annual Conference, October 2010

28 Pages Posted: 19 May 2011

See all articles by Sinisa Rodin

Sinisa Rodin

University of Zagreb - Faculty of Law

Date Written: October 7, 2010

Abstract

While the doctrine of supremacy of European Union law has not significantly changed since the 1960s, and has been upheld by the Treaty of Lisbon, the mandate of national courts, as defined in the landmark Simmenthal 2 case of the European Court of Justice has undergone an evolution. Today, it can no longer be understood as a mere procedural prong of supremacy, but as a finely knit web of reflexive cooperation of national courts with the ECJ. In this paper in Chapter 2, I will first describe how the Simmenthal mandate softened, primarily by development of doctrines of indirect effect and margin of appreciation. Second, in Chapter 3, I will discuss whether the Simmenthal mandate can be separated from the doctrine of direct effect and what the practical consequences of such separation is. Finally, in Chapter 4, I will try to demonstrate how the Simmenthal mandate affected the European judicial dialogue and possibly triggered a revival of national constitutional review.

Keywords: European Union, supremacy, direct effect, judicial dialogue, preliminary references

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation

Rodin, Sinisa, Back to Square One - the Past, the Present and the Future of the Simmenthal Mandate (October 7, 2010). European Constitutional Law Network, 8th Annual Conference, October 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1837237

Sinisa Rodin (Contact Author)

University of Zagreb - Faculty of Law ( email )

Trg m. Tita 14
HR-10000 Zagreb, 10000
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