The ‘Primacy’ and ‘Direct Effect’ of EU International Agreements

Abstract:

The rules on invoking EU norms before the Court of Justice and Member State courts are at the core of EU constitutional law. International agreements binding on the EU form an integral part of EU law and have primacy over inconsistent secondary EU legislation. Moreover, they also have primacy over inconsistent Member State law. This article aims to investigate, whether such primacy is capable of having effects independent of direct effect or it needs to be triggered by some form of 'direct effect' of the international agreement.