ABSTRACT

The Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court of Justice) has designated itself a new area of exclusive national competence by including judicial independence within the scope of EU law, as derived from the principles of the rule of law and effective judicial protection. The ECJ has used the principle of judicial independence as a means of extensive review of national legislation. Certain elements of this case-law, including the prohibition of retrogression in the protection of the rule of law and the direct effect of the principle of effective judicial protection, may raise doubts as to the principle of legal certainty and the protection of fundamental rights in national law. However, in resolving these conflicts the ECJ does not give primacy to any constitutional principle, while at the same time deprives national courts of any review of its exercise of competence, providing also for the national courts to disregard the decisions of constitutional courts. The case law of the ECJ in the context of the rule of law confirms the reality of the juristocracy phenomenon, which is an expression of the unlimited exercise of judicial power. The remedy to juristocracy in the area of the judicial protection of the rule of law may be, inter alia, to take account of the principle that, however desirable the objective of protecting the rule of law may be, it can only be valuable if it is pursued in all cases in a balanced way, in the light of all circumstances, taking account of conflicting interests and values.

keywords

juristocracy | rule of law | effective judicial protection | European Court of Justice | judicial independence | direct effect of EU law | legal certainty

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