The principle of primacy (also known as `primacy` or `primacy`) of EU law is based on the idea that in the event of a conflict between an aspect of EU law and a legal aspect in a Member State of the EU (national law), EU law prevails. If this were not the case, Member States could simply prioritise their national legislation over EU primary or secondary legislation, and the continuation of EU policies would be impracticable. The principle of the primacy of EU law has evolved over time thanks to the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It is not enshrined in the EU treaties, although a brief explanation is attached to the Lisbon Treaty. In Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen (Case 26/62), the Court held that laws adopted by the EU institutions are capable of creating legal rights which may be relied on by both natural and legal persons before the courts of the Member States. EU law therefore has direct effect. The United Kingdom was a Member State of the European Union and its predecessor, the European Communities, from 1 January 1973 to 31 January 2020. During this period, the question of the primacy of EU law over national law has been an important topic and a source of debate among both politicians and judges. [ref. As a former member, the United Kingdom claimed that this declaration violated the fundamental principle of separation of powers in national jurisdictions, as it gave unelected courts or other extrajudicial charges the power to ignore Parliament`s role with de facto immunity from prosecution. In Costa v.

ENEL. [7] Mr Costa was an Italian citizen who opposed the nationalisation of energy companies. Because he had shares in a private company that was absorbed by the nationalized company ENEL, he refused to pay his electricity bill in protest. In its subsequent action before the Italian courts, ENEL argued that nationalisation was contrary to Community law and distorted the market. [8] The Italian government considered that this was not a problem that even an individual could complain about, since it was a decision that fell within the scope of a national law. The ECJ ruled in favour of the government because the relevant Treaty rule on an undistorted market was one in which only the Commission could challenge the Italian government. As an individual, Mr Costa was not entitled to challenge the Decision on the ground that that provision of the Treaty had no direct effect. [9] However, the CJEU did not agree with the Italian government on the logically overriding issue of Mr Costa`s ability to raise a question of Community law against a national government in legal proceedings before the courts of that Member State. It held that Community law was invalid if Mr Costa could not challenge national law on the ground of alleged incompatibility with Community law. In Costa v ENEL (Case 6/64), the Court developed the principle of direct effect and took up the idea that, if EU law could be subordinated to national law, the objectives of the Treaties would be compromised. As Member States have delegated certain powers to the EU, they limit their sovereign rights and, for EU standards to be effective, they must prevail over all provisions of national law, including constitutions. Other examples of cases in which the Court has confirmed the primacy of Union law are the following: while the primacy of Community law over the national law of the Member States within the European Community has not always been inherent in the EEC Treaty, it was certainly firmly established in the case-law of the Court of Justice long before the United Kingdom`s accession to the Community.

Therefore, any restriction on its sovereignty accepted by Parliament when it passed the European Communities Act 1972 was entirely voluntary. Under the provisions of the 1972 Act, it has always been clear that it is for a court in the United Kingdom, when giving a final judgment, to suspend any provision of national law contrary to a directly enforceable provision of Community law. In those cases, the Court has stated that the primacy of EU law applies to all national acts, whether adopted before or after the EU act concerned. Where Union law takes precedence over conflicting national legislation, the national provisions shall not automatically be annulled or declared invalid. However, national authorities and courts must refuse to apply these provisions as long as Union police rules are in force. Article 10 of the Constitution of the Czech Republic stipulates that any international treaty ratified by the Parliament of the Czech Republic is part of the Czech legal system and takes precedence over all other laws. [14] The UK does not have a written constitution, but we do have a number of constitutional instruments. These include the Magna Carta, the Petition of Right 1628, the Bill of Rights and (in Scotland) the Claim of Rights Act 1689, the Act of Settlement 1701 and the Act of Union 1707.

The European Communities Act 1972, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 can now be added to this list. The common law itself also recognizes certain principles as fundamental to the rule of law. It is certainly controversial (and it is for British law and judicial law to determine this) that there may be fundamental principles, whether contained in other constitutional instruments or recognised in the common law, the repeal of which Parliament neither contemplated nor approved when it enacted the European Communities Act 1972.