Judicial pronouncements of the EU Member States confirm the primacy of national constitutions

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● The Constitutional Tribunal, at the request of the Prime Minister, will rule whether the Constitution of the Republic of Poland takes precedence over EU law, wherein he indicated that the CJEU exceeded its powers.

● Earlier, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that if a national court finds that domestic law infringes EU law, it has an obligation to refrain from applying such provisions of domestic law, regardless of whether they are statutory or constitutional.

● In accordance with the content of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the established jurisprudence of the Constitutional Tribunal, the norms of the Polish Constitution take precedence over other legal norms. The verdict on the compliance of selected provisions of the Treaty on European Union with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland may be issued on August 3.

● The Ordo Iuris Institute has prepared an analysis of the jurisprudence of eight European Union Member States, which confirms that for nearly 50 years the constitutional courts have consistently recognised the primacy of the national constitution over EU law.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is of the opinion that after a court of a Member State finds that domestic law infringes European Union law, the national court is obliged to refrain from applying conflicting national provisions, regardless of whether they have a statutory or constitutional status. This view was applied to subsequent amendments to the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), which, among other elements, concerned the possibility of appealing against resolutions of the National Council of the Judiciary on the appointment of judges of the Supreme Court (SN). Taking into account the judgement of the CJEU allowed the Supreme Administrative Court to process appeals of candidates for judges of the Supreme Court against resolutions of the National Council of the Judiciary rejecting their candidatures.

The Prime Minister submitted the request for a decision by the Constitutional Tribunal on whether the Constitution of the Republic of Poland takes precedence over EU law. According to the applicant, the declaration of the superiority of EU law over the Constitution of the Republic of Poland exceeds the competences of the CJEU. At the same time, the applicant has emphasised that he does not question the principle of the primacy of EU law over national lower-level standards (laws, regulations). The verdict on the case may be issued on August 3.

According to the established jurisprudence of the Constitutional Tribunal (in various configurations), the norms of the Polish Constitution take precedence over other legal standards, including EU law. The Ordo Iuris Institute has prepared an analysis of the jurisprudence of eight European Union Member States, which confirmed that over the last few decades the constitutional courts have consistently recognised the primacy of the national constitution over EU law.

“Constitutional courts of the European Union Member States have repeatedly held on the primacy of national constitutions over EU law. The established position of the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland is also in line with the jurisprudence of both the ‘old’ and ‘new’ European Union constitutional courts, which set clear boundaries for the exercise by EU bodies of the

competence conferred on them by the Member States. The verdict, which may be issued on August 3, will probably be an opportunity to maintain and develop the existing jurisprudence”, said Mr. Łukasz Bernaciński, Deputy Director of the Centre for Legislative Analysis of the Ordo Iuris Institute.