The Institute for European Integration is pleased to publish Felix Toggi Sames study paper on the topic of

“The Principle of direct effect by the court of the Eurasian Economic Union – A Eurasian restatement of Van Gend en Loos in order to achieve further integration?”

Abstract:

The Court of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU Court), in the Vertical Agreements case, introduced the principle of direct effect to the Eurasian legal regime. As a result, the question was asked if the EAEU Court was following the footsteps of the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ), in pushing for further integration. However, upon examination, the principle of direct effect in the two regimes might share similarities in the spirit of strengthening supranational legal regimes, but their contents are very different. Subsequently, the EAEU Court’s capacity for pushing for further integration is also questioned. Due to the curtailing of the competence enjoyed by its predecessor, the Court faces some serious obstacles in pushing for further integration. Namely, the lack of preliminary ruling procedure, the attitude of Russian national courts, and the judicial independence of the judges of the Court. Nevertheless, when examining the possible scenarios of further integration in the EAEU, there is not a clear path to which the EAEU Court can effectively push for further integration. In light of the principle of direct effect, a possible hybrid approach between a state-centric and judicial activist approach to Eurasian integration can be seen. However, only with time and practice can it be determined if the EAEU Court will adopt such an approach and if it is effective. Therefore, it remains to be seen if the principle of direct effect in the EAEU context, become a prime instigator for the push for further Eurasian integration.

You can find all our publications here.