ABSTRACT

The CJEU, originally created as a ‘supranational administrative court’ with rather restricted powers intended to mitigate the fears of creating – as expressed by Jean Monnet – a ‘government of judges’, evolved into the quasi ‘constitutional court’ of the European integration. Creating such a court was, in fact, the original German proposal during the negotiations on the European Coal and Steel Community.  The CJEU, by virtue of its prece-dent-dviven approach, has shaped the acquis communautaire in a remarkable manner through its judgments, acting as a quasi-legislator. It has significantly contributed to the advancement of European integration and, according to some views, has transformed the Treaties into a ‘constitution’. Starting with the doctrine of direct effect – that is to say, holding that the Treaties are not merely binding on the governments of Member States but are also legally enforceable by individuals in national courts – and by granting supremacy to the Community law, the CJEU has expanded its own powers and curtailed the powers of the Member States. Besides historical, political and legal factors that facilitated the CJEU’s evolution into the quasi ‘constitutional court’ of the EU, the current study examines the importance of inherent personal motivations and the personal nexuses among the often-overlapping circle of persons who sat at the negotiating tables of the Founding Treaties and/or later interpreted the treaty provisions as either judges or advocate generals of the CJEU or as members of the Legal Service of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community /Commission of the European Economic Community.

keywords

Court of Justice of the European Union, European Coal and Steel
Community, European Economic Community, Van Gend en Loos, principle of direct effect, Costa v. ENEL, primacy of EU law

Citation

Marinkás, György. „How a ‘Supranational Administrative Court’ Became the Quasi ‘Constitutional Court’ of the European Integration? – Certain Aspects of the CJEU’s Early Years.” Jog–Állam–Politika: Jog- és politikatudományi folyóirat, vol. 17, no. 4, 2025, pp. 105-117. https://doi.org/10.58528/JAP.2025.17-4.105

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