Central European Constitutional Courts in the face of EU membership : the influence of the German model of integration in Hungary and Poland

Abstract

This thesis examines the attitude of the Hungarian Constitutional Court (“HCC”) and the

Polish Constitutional Tribunal (“PCT”) towards EU law in their case-law. The predominant

German legal influence in the Central European region is explored from perspectives of legal

history and culture in order to explain its enduring attraction. In order to provide the framework for the research, the case-law of the German Federal Constitutional Court (“FCC”) on the main principles comprehending the essential core of national sovereignty, the contents of which are not susceptible to transfer or limitation, are set against the constitutional requirements of EU law as enunciated by the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) in its own foundational case-law. Such analysis thus provides the “German model,” by which the FCC has “negotiated” its position vis-à-vis the Union’s fundamental principles (e.g., primacy, direct effect, priority of ECJ rulings) which the ECJ has developed through its judgments. In pursuing this research, the decision-making of the two Central European courts is considered in the light of the putative influence of the German model. The increasingly active participation of the HCC and particularly the PCT in helping to negotiate the new constitutional context of the Union, based post-Lisbon on the respect of national constitutional identities in Art. 4(2) TEU, is explored. The multilayered judicial construct of Europe still remains replete with recognition problems for which the research seeks to suggest some limited and focused changes.