Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s Judgement Regarding Supremacy of the Polish Constitution Over EU Law: The Next-Level Debate on the “Last Word’’

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22364/jull.15.14

Keywords:

European Union law, Constitution, Constitutional Court, European Court of Justice

Abstract

2021 judgement K 3/21 of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal (Trybunał Konstytucyjny, hereinafter – the Tribunal) concerns compatibility of some norms of Treaty on European Union (TEU) with Polish constitution.

According to the Tribunal, contested norms of TEU are incompatible with relevant norms of the Polish constitution. It also suggested that Polish government institutions follow national constitutional rules in case of any conflicts.

In essence, the Tribunal ruled that Polish constitution shall supersede TEU in specific cases brought before the constitutional court.

This article aims to explore the contents of Tribunal’s judgement, analyse its legal rationale, reflect upon relationship between EU law and national constitutional laws from a broader legal and political perspective, and draw conclusions regarding the next steps.

Author Biography

Irēna Kucina, University of Latvia

Dr. iur. 
Faculty of Law, University of Latvia
Associate Professor at the Department of International and European Law

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Published

2022-11-16

How to Cite

Kucina, I. (2022). Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s Judgement Regarding Supremacy of the Polish Constitution Over EU Law: The Next-Level Debate on the “Last Word’’. Journal of the University of Latvia. Law, 15, 204–214. https://doi.org/10.22364/jull.15.14