“Nature of the Provision Relating to European Union Law in the Context of Constitutional Review” by Katariina Kuum

Katariina Kuum defended 2023 her MA thesis “The Constitutional Review of Legal Provisions Related to European Union Law”. She published article “Nature of the Provision Relating to European Union Law in the Context of Constitutional Review” in Juridica 2024/5. Here is a translation about summary:

The Estonian Supreme Court, as a constitutional review court, has the authority to assess the compliance of domestic legislative acts or their omission with the constitution. Similarly, the European Court of Justice has the authority to review the legality of legal acts established by European Union institutions and to issue preliminary rulings on the interpretation and validity of both primary and secondary EU law. The challenge lies in defining the boundaries of jurisdiction for these courts when domestic legal acts contain content related to EU-established norms. If a national court fails to properly distinguish EU-related norms or incorrectly defines them, it risks exceeding its jurisdiction and making incorrect procedural decisions. The term “EU-related provision/norm” is widely used in Estonian Supreme Court practice, especially when assessing the constitutionality of certain provisions. However, a uniform and exhaustive definition remains elusive.