'In the Name of the Republic': Constitutional Courts and European Union Legitimacy

In Merle, J.-C. (ed.) Die Legitimität von supranationalen Institutionen der EU: Die Debatte in den neuen und alten Mitgliedstaaten, pp. 156-183. LIT Verlag, Berlin 2012.

17 Pages Posted: 17 Jun 2015 Last revised: 3 Aug 2015

See all articles by Tomas Dumbrovsky

Tomas Dumbrovsky

Charles University in Prague - Faculty of Law; Doha Institute for Graduate Studies - Human Rights Program

Date Written: June 15, 2012

Abstract

Nowadays, the strong political influence of highest courts is one of the features of modern governance. While the judiciary has been largely accepted as a political actor in the American system of governance, this has been more difficult in Europe where the judiciary is still regarded as rather isolated from the other two branches of government. Discourse on the distribution of judicial competences between the European Union and the Member States shows the importance of constitutional courts, which can act as ‘providers of legitimacy’ to the European Union. For systemic reasons, the legitimizing potential of the highest courts in the ‘new’ Member States seems to be stronger than the one of the courts in the 'old' Member States. All in all, effectuating cooperative constitutionalism, the constitutional courts of the Member States, along with the Court of Justice, mutually empower and restrict each other, effecting the overall legitimacy of the system.

Suggested Citation

Dumbrovsky, Tomas, 'In the Name of the Republic': Constitutional Courts and European Union Legitimacy (June 15, 2012). In Merle, J.-C. (ed.) Die Legitimität von supranationalen Institutionen der EU: Die Debatte in den neuen und alten Mitgliedstaaten, pp. 156-183. LIT Verlag, Berlin 2012., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2618874 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2618874

Tomas Dumbrovsky (Contact Author)

Charles University in Prague - Faculty of Law ( email )

Nam. Curieovych 7
Praha, 11640
Czech Republic

Doha Institute for Graduate Studies - Human Rights Program ( email )

Al Tarfa Street
Doha, Zone 70
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