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Article Understanding and Effects of European Union Directives
Authors
CARRI GINTER

Associate Professor,  Associate Professor in European Law at the University of Tartu, Estonia and partner heading the Dispute Resolution and Risk Management practice area at Sorainen (Tallinn, Estonia) carri.ginter@sorainen.com 

 

PIRET SCHASMIN

Sworn advocate and Senior Associate at Sorainen  (Tallinn, Estonia)  piret.schasmin@sorainen.com

 

Name of magazine Legal journal «Law of Ukraine» (Ukrainian version)
Issue 4 / 2023
Pages 33 - 72
Annotation

General principles of law, treaties, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, regulations, directives, framework decisions and other sources of EU law have their distinctive nature, which is reflected in their effects on legal relationships. This article focuses on the interrelationship between national and EU law, primarily focusing on the various impacts of directives and framework decisions. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has clarified that directives may, in certain situations, have both a vertical direct effect and, in some limited cases, also a de facto incidental horizontal direct effect on a legal relationship. In addition, directives can have a decisive role in interpreting national law. These tools to deal with national and EU law inconsistencies are analysed in detail. The chapter aims to establish a comprehensive understanding of the topic and add the Estonian perspective by providing an insight into the practice of the Estonian courts, which has so far not been available to Englishspeaking legal scholars.

 

Keywords EU; directive; framework decision; direct effect; interpretation in conformity with EU law; horizontal effect; triangular effect; incidental direct effect; conforming interpretation; CJEU; ECJ
References

Bibliography

Authored books

1. Chalmers D, Davies G, Monti G, European Union Law: Text and Materials (Cambridge University Press 2014) (in English).

 2. Craig P, Burca G de, EU Law: Text, Cases, and Materials (6th ed, Oxford University Press 2015) (in English).

 

Edited books

3. Eesti Vabariigi pohiseadus. Kommenteeritud valjaanne ( Madise Ü et al eds, Juura 2020) (in Estonian).

4. Ginter C, ‘Tallinn, general provisions’, in Kõve Villu, Järvekülg Inga, Ots Jaanus, Torga Maarja (eds), Tsiviilkohtumenetluse seadustik I. Kommenteeritud väljaanne (Juura 2017) 131–3 (in Estonian).

5. Ginter C, Ernits M et al, ‘The Constitution of Estonia: The Unexpected Challenges of Unlimited Primacy of EU Law’ in National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law (Albi A, Bardutzky S eds, T.M.C. Asser Press 2019) (in English).

6. Simovart M A, Parind M (ed), Riigihangete seadus. Kommenteeritud väljaanne (Ginter C, Simovart M, Juura 2019) (in Estonian).

 

 Journal articles

7. Colgan D, ‘Triangular Situations: The Coup de Grâce for the Denial of Horizontal Direct Effect of Community Directives’ [2002] (8) 4 European Public Law 546-547 (in English).

8. Craig P, ‘The Legal Effect of Directives: Policy, Rules and Exceptions’ [2009] (34) 3 European Law Review 349–77 (in English).

9. Dougan M, ‘The “Disguised” Vertical Direct Effect of Directives?’ The [2000] (59) 3 Cambridge Law Journal 586–611 (in English).

10. Ginter C, ‘Effective Implementation of the Trade Mark Directive in Estonia’ [2007] (28) 6 European Competition Law Review 337–45 (in English).

11. Ginter C, ‘Intellektuaalomandi kaitse ja paralleelimport’ (2009) 3 Juridica 159–72 (in Estonian). 12. Ginter C, ‘Riigi vastutus õigusemõistmisel tekitatud kahju eest’ (2004) 8 Juridica 520–5 (in Estonian).

13. Ginter C, Parrest N, ‘Free Public Transport of Tallinn, Estonia: A Case to Justify (Reverse) Discrimination on the Basis of Residence’ (2017) 42 European Law Review 894–908 (in English). 14. Ginter C, Väljaots T, ‘Excluded Tenderer’s Access to a Review in a Public Procurement Procedure’ [2018] 4 European Procurement & PPP Law Review 305–6 (in English).

15. Ginter Carri, Piret Schasmin, ‘Understanding and Effects of EU Directives’ [2022] 20 (1) Baltic Yearbook of International Law Online 67–107 (in English).

16. K P E Lasok, ‘Can Persons Other Than Member States Be Bound by the “Direct Effect” of Directives?’ [1990] (1) 6 International Company and Commercial Law Review 195–8 (in English). 17. Lenaerts A, ‘The General Principle of the Prohibition of Abuse of Rights: A Critical Position on Its Role in a Codified European Contract Law’ (2010) 6 European Review of Private Law 1121–54 (in English).

18. Lohmus U, ‘Kuidas liikmesriigi kohtusiisteem tagab Euroopa Liidu oiguse tohusa toime?’ (2007) 3 Juridica 150–1 (in Estonian).

19. Satzger H, ‘Legal Effects of Directives Amending or Repealing Pre-Lisbon Framework Decisions’ [2015] (6 )4 New Journal of European Criminal Law 528–37 (in English).

20. Soo A, ‘Milliseks kujuneb Euroopa Kohtu roll kaitseõiguste tagamisel kriminaalmenetluses?’ (2016) 9 Juridica 665–75 (in Estonian).

 

Theses

21. Kelve-Liivsoo M, ‘Volaoigusliku tuuptingimuste regulatsiooni hankelepingutele kohaldamise kooskola eraja hankeoiguse pohimotetega’ (Master’s thesis, The School of Law of the University of Tartu, 2019, p. 64 et seq.) <https://dspace.ut.ee/bitstream/ handle/10062/64015/kelve_liivsoo_ma_2019.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y> (accessed: 05.04.2023) (in Estonian).

 

Websites

22. ‘Silvio Berlusconi: Italy’s perpetual powerbroker’ (29 May 2019, BBC News) <https:// www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11981754> (accessed: 05.04.2023) (in English).

23. Rosas A, ‘Euroopa Liidu ja liikmesriikide konstitutsiooniõiguse vahekorrast’ (Presentation. 36th Estonian Lawyers’ Days, 08.10.2020) <https://www.uttv.ee/ naita?id=30534> (accessed: 05.04.2023) (in Estonian).

 

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