Abstract

This chapter considers the effect of European Union (EU) law in the national courts of the member states and its status vis‐a‐vis overlapping rules of national law. The basic doctrines crafted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) marked a significant departure from the standard model of international law and made a major contribution to the early development of the common market. The CJEU added, in many national legal systems the essentials of the legal rules governing State liability have been developed by the courts. The principle of state liability has in practice been applied by the CJEU with restraint. The national courts now routinely apply the doctrines of direct effect and what de Witte calls ordinary primacy. However, the idea that Union law takes precedence over national rules having constitutional status has proved problematic with top national courts, particularly in so‐called dualist member states.