The concept of the EU case in the case-law of the Supreme Court

National Courts and the Application of EU Law : Lessons from Poland / by Monika Domańska, Dawid Miąsik, Monika Szwarc. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, 2023, s. 13-42.

The chapter covers the case-law of the Supreme Court with the view to present how it identifies cases in which this court should apply EU law and its principles. It discusses the concept of the EU case in general. The chapter then debates how EU substantive law impacts national procedural rules, which, despite the principle of national procedural autonomy, must be interpreted and applied in EU cases in a manner securing the effectiveness of EU law. The chapter continues by presenting various less obvious categories of the scope of EU law, focusing primarily on EU cases without the cross-border element. It also covers the so-called false EU cases, when the scope of EU law is falsely recognised by the courts of lower instances or claimed by the party bringing an appeal for cessation.

The principle of consistent interpretation in the case-law of the Supreme Court

National Courts and the Application of EU Law : Lessons from Poland / by Monika Domańska, Dawid Miąsik, Monika Szwarc. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, 2023, s. 83-113.

This chapter covers how the Polish Supreme Court understands and applies the duty of consistent interpretation of national law with EU law. The chapter discusses the reception of this duty by the Supreme Court, elements of the principle of consistent interpretation as understood by it, a presentation of how the Supreme Court follows the interpretation of EU law adopted by the CJ, what the limits of consistent interpretation as seen by the Supreme Court are, and when or how far that court decided to depart from the results of a standard interpretation of national law to secure the effectiveness of EU law. This chapter also presents various consequences of consistent interpretation of Polish law with EU law as seen from the perspective of the Supreme Court and the point of view of an individual being party to judicial proceedings in civil and criminal matters.

The principles of primacy and direct effect in the case-law of the Supreme Court

National Courts and the Application of EU Law : Lessons from Poland / by Monika Domańska, Dawid Miąsik, Monika Szwarc. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, 2023, s. 201-224.

The chapter considers the principles of primacy and the direct effect of the EU provisions. The doctrine of direct effect can only really be understood against the background of another principle of EU law: the principle of primacy (or supremacy). The chapter presents long-standing and continuous case-law of the Supreme Court in respect of ensuring that EU law provisions precede before conflicting national provisions and ensuring full effect to directly effective EU law provisions. The chapter covers such issues as the reception of the principles of primacy and direct effect by the Supreme Court, the functions of these principles in adjudicating practice, and their consequences for the judgments and other judicial decisions.

The Duty of National Administrative Authorities to Respect the EU’s Fundamental Rights in Fining Proceedings and the Consequences Thereof

Białostockie Studia Prawnicze 2023, t. 28, nr 4, s. 35-51.

Współautorstwo: Kapica, Kamil

Fines levied on individuals, including entrepreneurs, are measures of vital importance for securing the effectiveness of EU law. They are primarily imposed by national administrative authorities who apply national laws. Those authorities must respect the EU’s fundamental rights during national fining proceedings following the Fransson and Pfleger formulas. They must also respect the general principles of EU law. These rights and principles shield individual entrepreneurs against arbitrary and unlawful activities by national authorities. They determine whether an individual can be fined, how high a fine is legitimate and how the fining proceedings should be conducted.

[Recenzja: Maciej Bernatt, Populism and antitrust. The illiberal influence of populist government on the competition law system, Cambridge 2022, Cambridge University Press, s. 258]

Państwo i Prawo 2023, nr 11, s. 152-155.

Tematyka interakcji zachodzących między działalnością populistycznych rządów a funkcjonowaniem systemu prawa konkurencji stanowi intrygujący i oryginalny problem badawczy. Docenić zatem należy, że autor pokusił się o analizę tego zagadnienia 1 . Recenzowana publikacja stanowi znakomite teoretyczne studium przypadku, w jaki sposób populistyczni politycy mogą w niedemokratyczny sposób kształtować rzeczywistość gospodarczą i wpływać za pomocą praktyki stosowania prawa na losy przedsiębiorców, osób nimi zarządzających oraz ich właścicieli. Nie trzeba zmieniać przepisów prawa. Wystarczą drobne zmiany personalne w organie ochrony konkurencji, by możliwe stało się wykorzystywanie instytucji prawa antymonopolowego w sposób zgodny z celami populistycznego rządu. Nie trzeba manipulować przy przepisach dotyczących sposobu udzielania ochrony sądowej. Tu również wystarczą zmiany personalne na samym szczycie. Prawo ochrony konkurencji posługuje się tak nieostrymi pojęciami, że każdy akt jego zastosowania po myśli partii-matki można wytłumaczyć zmanipulowanej opinii publicznej jako efekt ścisłego poszanowania litery prawa i dotychczasowych standardów. Dlatego autor słusznie skoncentrował się w swych badaniach na instytucjach ochrony prawnej (organie antymonopolowym oraz sądach).

Une exécution à la carte des arrêts préjudiciels sur l'indépendance des juges en Pologne

Revue des Affaires Europeennes 2023, nr 1, s. 81-104.

Współautorstwo: Kowalik-Bańczyk, Krystyna

Redakcja:

National Courts and the Application of EU Law : Lessons from Poland

Współredaktorstwo: Domańska, Monika; Szwarc, Monika

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, 2023

ISBN 9781032452241; 9781032446257; 9781003376019

VIII, [2], 307 stron. Bibliografia przy poszczególnych rozdziałach. Indeks.

This book presents the case law of Polish courts, namely the Supreme Court, administrative courts and the Constitutional Tribunal, in which the principles of EU law have been successfully applied. It discusses how Polish courts apply principles of consistent interpretation, primacy and direct effect of EU law in their daily adjudicating practice in order to ensure effet utile of EU law, resulting in effective protection of individuals' rights derived from the EU legal order. The book explores the legal nature of these principles and, in particular, the requirement that national rules that are found to be incompatible with legally binding and enforceable EU law should be disapplied by the domestic courts. It explains Polish courts’ reasoning concerning the inseparable relationship between the principle of primacy of EU law and the remedy of disapplication of national law. As the guidelines provided for the national courts by the Court of Justice of the European Union are often quite vague, the work will be important and useful for academics and practitioners from different European jurisdictions to observe the manner in which these principles of EU law are applied in jurisdictions other than their own.

Publication financed under the program of the Minister of Science and Higher Education under the name “DIALOG” in the years 2019–2023 as part of the project “Excellence in Legal Research. Promoting Polish Achievements in the Area of Legal Sciences Abroad” implemented under the leadership of Celina Nowak by the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Conclusions

Współautorstwo: Domańska, Monika; Szwarc, Monika

National Courts and the Application of EU Law : Lessons from Poland / by Monika Domańska, Dawid Miąsik, Monika Szwarc. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, 2023, s. 291-304.

The relationship between the national legal system and EU law is still raising various issues calling for a closer examination, particularly, at the level of application of EU law by national courts. On the one hand, direct effect, consistent interpretation, and the principle of primacy are closely linked and influence one another. On the other hand, national courts may find in national procedures serious objections which can limit the possibilities of applying these principles. This chapter summarises which issues concerning the application of EU law have already been dealt with by Polish courts and what remaining challenges are for the future. The chapter contains conclusions regarding the meaning of the EU case and the application of principles of consistent interpretation, primacy, and direct effect by Polish courts. These conclusions were developed on the basis of an analysis of the established case-law of the Polish administrative courts, the Supreme Court, and the Constitutional Tribunal. This part of the book includes representative outcomes of an adjudicating practice on the level of interaction between national and EU provisions. The aim of this part of the volume is to present a clear picture of the participation of Polish courts in ensuring the effectiveness of EU law in domestic legal orders.

Introduction

Współautorstwo: Domańska, Monika; Szwarc, Monika

National Courts and the Application of EU Law : Lessons from Poland / by Monika Domańska, Dawid Miąsik, Monika Szwarc. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, 2023, s. 1-11.

The decentralised system for the application and enforcement of European Union law depends on the national courts of Member States. When fulfilling this function of ‘EU law court’, national courts aim for the effective application of EU law and the judicial protection of the rights of individuals, which they derive from EU law. The involvement of national courts in the decentralised application of EU law rests on the principles of primacy and direct effect, completed by the principle of consistent interpretation. Still, the dialogue between the Court of Justice of the European Union and national courts, on the EU duties of national courts, is constantly developing, as the evolution of social, economic, and legal circumstances provokes new challenges to the jurisdictions across the European Union. The chapter presents the reasons for undertaking the research in the case-law of national (Polish) courts concerning the application of EU law in domestic legal order, which is the authors’ strong conviction on the necessity to perceive EU law via the prism of national legal cultures. Additionally, the chapter explains the scope of the analyses, the results of which are presented in this book, which is the application of the principle of consistent interpretation and the principles of primacy and direct effect of EU law provisions. It also includes presentation of the general legal framework of Polish justice system, the main branches of the judiciary and their competences. The chapter concludes with presentation of the method applied for the analyses, the results of which are presented in this book.