The European Court of Justice as a tool of European integration

Abstract

‘European integration’ is the unification of European states into a continent with shared systems, institutions, and values. This article argues that there are four main ways in which the European Court of Justice (‘ECJ’ or ‘the Court’) facilitates integration. First, the ECJ has created a series of case law that unites the treaties of the European Union (‘EU’) into a single, ‘constitutionalised’ body of law that resembles a national constitution. Second, the human rights agenda of the ECJ aligns states to a single, set ideology the Court espouses. Third, the Court has enhanced EU power by giving the European Parliament power to be involved in ECJ litigation, and by articulating the principle that European law must be considered with respect to integration. Finally, the Court’s preliminary ruling mechanism provides that the EU has supremacy over all legal matters that involve EU principles, effectively curtailing opposition to the expansion of EU law. In these ways, the ECJ is a significant contributor to European integration.