CYIL vol. 15 (2024)

CYIL 15 ȍ2024Ȏ DIRECT EFFECT OF INTERNATIONAL TREATY PROVISIONS IN THE EU LEGAL ORDER … DIRECT EFFECT OF INTERNATIONAL TREATY PROVISIONS IN THE EU LEGAL ORDER: BETWEEN OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE CRITERIA 1 Dominika Moravcová Abstract: The present Article focuses on the issue of the direct effect of provisions of international treaties concluded by the Union within the legal order of the European Union. The primary aim is to identify the requirements for granting direct effect to provisions of these treaties. The doctrine of European law clearly delineates the objective and subjective criteria that the Court of Justice evaluates when determining the direct effect. The Article examines the interplay between these criteria, the process of identifying the direct effect of provisions of international treaties, and the role of adjudicated exceptions within this defined perspective. In conclusion, it proposes a methodology for identifying the direct effect of international treaties. Resumé: Článok sa zaoberá skúmaním priameho účinku medzinárodných zmlúv uzavre tých Úniou v právnom poriadku Európskej únie. Identifikácia účinkov prechádza od ob jektívnych kritérií k subjektívnym a naspäť, zohľadňujúc výnimky vyplývajúce z judikatúry Súdneho dvora EÚ. Keywords: direct effect, international treaties, objective and subjective criteria of direct ef fect About the Author: JUDr. Ing. Dominika Moravcová, PhD., MBA. is currently an assistant professor at the Institute of Clinical Legal Education at the Faculty of Law, Trnava University in Trnava. Introduction The European Union (the EU or the Union), as a significant actor in the international community, concludes numerous international treaties with third countries and organizations. These treaties are growing in importance due to their increasing number and the variety of substantive areas they cover. The Union’s external competences materialize in practice primarily through the conclusion of these international treaties, which become part of the Union’s acquis . 2 International treaties concluded by the Union hold a special status among the sources of Union law, particularly because they are a product of international law and simultaneously part of Union law, which is supranational in character. The aim of this Article is to identify the requirements for granting direct effect to a provision of an international treaty concluded by the Union in Union law. The doctrine of European law extensively addresses the issue of direct effect, and regarding the direct effect of international treaties, there are numerous disparities of opinion among scholars. Even in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (the CJEU), it is challenging to find a clear framework for identifying the direct effect of an international treaty provision.

1 This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract No. APVV-20-0567 . 2 Judgment of the Court of 30 May 2006, Commission v. Ireland , C-459/03, EU:C:2006:345, para. 82.

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