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Mr. Fernando Castillo de la Torre

Mr. Fernando Castillo de la Torre
Legal Adviser
Legal Service of the European Commission

BiographyBiography in PDF

Regional Organizations
European Union
The Relationship between European Union Law and National Legal Systems
Video | Audio
(2/12/2014, 40 minutes)
Regional Organizations
European Union
The Relationship between European Union Law and National Legal Systems
Outline of Lecture PDF document (22 KB)
A. Legal Instruments

Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (renamed as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as amended by Article 2 of the Lisbon Treaty), Rome, 25 March 1957, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 298, p. 11.

B. Jurisprudence

Direct effect of Treaty provisions

Court of Justice of the European Union, NV Algemene Transporten Expeditie Onderneming van Gend en Loos v. Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen, Case 26/62 [1963] ECR 1; EU:C:1963:1.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Belgische Radio en Televisie and société belge des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs v. SV SABAM and NV Fonior, Case 127-73 [1974] ECR 51; EU:C:1974:6.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Gabrielle Defrenne v. Société anonyme belge de navigation aérienne Sabena, Case 149/77 [1978] ECR 455; EU:C:1978:130.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Criminal proceedings against Guerrino Casati, Case 203/80 [1981] ECR 2595; EU:C:1981:261.

Primacy of EU law

Court of Justice of the European Union, Flaminio Costa v. E.N.E.L., Case 6-64 [1964] ECR 585; EU:C:1964:66.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v. Einfuhr- und Vorratsstelle für Getreide und Futtermittel, Case 11-70 [1970] ECR 1125; EU:C:1970:114.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Amministrazione delle Finanze dello Stato v. Simmenthal SpA, Case 106/77 [1978] ECR 629; EU:C:1978:49.

Court of Justice of the European Union, The Queen v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte: Factortame Ltd and others, Case C-213/89 [1990] ECR I-2433; EU:C:1990:257.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Fratelli Costanzo SpA v. Comune di Milano, Case 103/88 [1989] ECR 1839; EU:C:1989:256.

Effect of EU secondary law

Court of Justice of the European Union, Fratelli Variola S.p.A. v. Amministrazione italiana delle Finanze, Case 34-73 [1973] ECR 981; EU:C:1973:101.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Franz Grad v. Finanzamt Traunstein, Case 9-70 [1970] ECR 825; EU:C:1970:78.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Yvonne van Duyn v. Home Office, Case 41-74 [1974] ECR 1337; EU:C:1974:133.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Verbond van Nederlandse Ondernemingen v. Inspecteur der Invoerrechten en Accijnzen, Case 51-76 [1977] ECR 113; EU:C:1977:12.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Criminal proceedings against Tullio Ratti, Case 148/78 [1979] ECR 1629; EU:C:1979:110.

Court of Justice of the European Union, M. H. Marshall v. Southampton and South-West Hampshire Area Health Authority, Case 152/84 [1986] ECR I-723; EU:C:1986:84.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Sabine von Colson and Elisabeth Kamann v. Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, Case 14/83 [1984] ECR 1891; EU:C:1984:153.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Marleasing SA v. La Comercial Internacional de Alimentacion SA, Case C-106/89 [1990] ECR I-4135; EU:C:1990:395.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Paola Faccini Dori v. Recreb Srl, Case C-91/92 [1994] ECR I-3325; EU:C:1994:292.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Criminal proceedings against Kolpinghuis Nijmegen BV, Case 80/86 [1987] ECR 3969; EU:C:1987:431.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Criminal proceedings against Luciano Arcaro, Case C-168/95 [1996] ECR I-4705; EU:C:1996:363.

Court of Justice of the European Union,Grand Duchy of Luxemburg v. Berthe Linster, Aloyse Linster and Yvonne Linster, Case C-287/98 [2000] ECR I-6917; EU:C:2000:468.

Court of Justice of the European Union, CIA Security International SA v. Signalson SA and Securitel SPRL, Case C-194/94 [1996] ECR I-2201; EU:C:1996:172.

National Remedies and Liability of Member States for Breach of EU Law

Court of Justice of the European Union, Amministrazione delle Finanze dello Stato v. SpA San Giorgio, Case 199/82 [1983] ECR 3595.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Fantask A/S e.a. v. Industriministeriet (Erhvervministeriet), Case C-188/95 [1997] ECR I-6783; EU:C:1997:580.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Andrea Francovich and Danila Bonifaci and others v. Italian Republic, Joined cases C-6/90 and C-9/90 [1991] ECR I-5357; EU:C:1991:428.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Brasserie du Pêcheur SA ν. Federal Republic of Germany and The Queen ν. Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame Ltd and Others, Joined cases C-46/93 and C-48/93 [1997] ECR I-1029; EU:C:1996:79.

Court of Justice of the European Union, Gerhard Köbler v. Republic Österreich, Case C-224/01 [2003] ECR I-10239; EU:C:2003:513.

C. Doctrine

A. Barav and D. Simon, "Le droit communautaire et la suspension provisoire des mesures nationales—Les enjeux de l'affaire Factortame",Revue du Marché Commun, 1990, p. 591.

G. Bebr, "How Supreme is Community Law in the national courts?", Common Market Law Review, vol. 11, 1974, p. 3.

L. Constantinesco, “Applicabilité directe dans le droit de la C.E.E”, LGDJ, 1970.

A. Dashwood, “The Relationship between the Member States and the European Union/European Community”, Common Market law Review, vol. 41, 2004, p. 355.

B. de Witte, "Retour à ‘Costa’: La primauté du droit communautaire à la lumière du droit international", Revue trimestrielle de droit européen,‎ 1984, p. 425-454.

B. de Witte, “Direct Effect, Supremacy and the Nature of the Legal Order”, in Craig and De
Burca (eds.), The Evolution of EU Law, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1999, p. 181.

R. Haltern, "Autonomy of the Community Legal Order – Through the Looking Glass", Harvard International Law Journal, vol. 37, 1996, p. 411.

K. Lenaerts and T. Corthaut, "Of Birds and Hedges: The Role of Primacy in Invoking Norms of EU Law”, European Law Review, vol. 31, 2006, p. 287.

K. Lenaerts and P. Van Nuffel, European Union Law, Sweet & Maxwell, Third Edition, 2011, particularly chapters 21-22.

P. Pescatore, "International Law and Community Law – A Comparative Analysis", Common Market Law Review, vol. 7, 1970, p. 167.

P. Pescatore, "The doctrine of 'direct effect': An Infant Disease of Community Law", European law Review, 1983, p. 155.

S. Prechal, Directives in European Community Law. A Study of Directives and Their Enforcement in National Courts, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005.

J.M. Prinssen and A. Schrauwen (eds.), Direct Effect: Rethinking a Classic of EC Legal Doctrine, Europa Law Publishing, Groningen, 2002.

D. Ritleng, "De l’utilité du principe de primauté du droit de l’Union", Revue trimestrielle de droit européen, vol. 45, no. 4, 2009, p. 677.

G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias and J.P. Keppenne, "L’incidence du droit communautaire sur le droit national", in Mélanges en hommage à Michel Waelbroeck, Vol. I, Bruylant, Brussels, 1999, p. 517.

A. Rosas and L. Armati, EU Constitutional Law – An Introduction, Hart Publishing, Portland, 2010, particularly chapter 5.

T. Schilling, "The Autonomy of the Community Legal Order: An Analysis of Possible Foundations", Harvard International Law Journal, vol. 37, 1996, p. 389.

A.M. Slaughter, A. Stone, J. Weiler, The European Courts and National Courts – Doctrine and Jurisprudence, Hart Publishing, Oxford, 1998.

D. Simon, La directive européenne, Salloz, 1997.

J. Winter, "Direct Applicability and Direct Effect" Common Market Law Review, vol. 9, 1972, p. 425.

D. Additional Materials