The Prohibition of Horizontal Direct Effect of Directives - Essay Example

In order to fully implement its policies, pieces of legislation are enacted by the European Parliament, European Commission and the Council of the European Union. On the other hand, the European Court of Justice plays an important role in the interpretation of European Union laws which consist of treaties, regulations and directives among others. Its interpretation aids the member states in the proper implementation of the European Union laws. In its case law, the European Court of Justice has introduced the principle of direct effect of European Union laws in the member states.

The principle of direct effect was designed to ensure the effectiveness of the European laws, enabling the citizens to use it before their respective national courts. Correspondingly, the doctrine of direct effect have a substantial effect on the legal systems of the member states, because it paved the way for individuals to enforce rights which originates from community legislation before their national courts. And as such, the principle has become a distinctive aspect of the European Union.

The landmark case of Van Gend and Loos v. . ven though the treaty did not state that it was directly effective, it was in consonance with the nature of the treaty that the provision on the abolition of custom duties should be directly effective. Significantly, the court enumerated the guidelines for establishing direct effect to wit: The provision must be sufficiently clear and precisely stated, it must be unconditional or non-dependent and provision must confer a specific right for the citizen to base his or her claim (Van Gend and Loos v.

Netherlands Inland Revenue Administration, 1963). Conformity with the aforementioned guidelines will enable European citizens to enforce their rights and to rely directly on the provisions of Community law before their national courts. Similarly, the court states that the direct effect confers the company a direct assurance of its rights under Community law before its national courts. The principle of direct effect goes after the principle of primacy of community laws developed by the European Court of Justice in the case of Costa v. ENEL. In the case of Costa v.

ENEL, (1964) the court likewise pointed out in paragraph seven of the case, that a member state's obligation under the European Economic Community Treaty, in the execution, effect or adoption of any measures either by States or by Commission is legally complete and consequently producing direct effects on the relations between member states and individuals. Correspondingly, it becomes an integral part of the legal system of the member state, and as such, national courts are duty bound to protect it.

The principle of direct effect, basically deals with the enforceability of European Union laws by citizens of member states. The Doctrine of Direct effect can be classified into two. The vertical direct effect and the