The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Giving effect to public international law and European Community law before domestic courts: a comparative analysis of the practice of consistent interpretation

Giving effect to public international law and European Community law before domestic courts: a comparative analysis of the practice of consistent interpretation
Giving effect to public international law and European Community law before domestic courts: a comparative analysis of the practice of consistent interpretation
This paper explores differences and similarities in how domestic courts - mainly Dutch courts — apply two distinct forms of non-domestic law: public international law and European Community law. The article focuses on the application of the principle that dominates practice in both areas: that courts should, whenever possible, construe national law in conformity with, respectively, public international law and European Community law. This article offers a systematic comparison of how courts employ this principle. On the basis of a detailed analysis of the relevant national case law and the case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), it is argued that there is no fundamental divide between the application of public international law and EC law (despite the theoretically opposing starting points); differences in application are a matter of degree not of principle. The principle of consistent interpretation proves to be effective and of great practical importance in both areas and further testifies of similarities in the impact of the two areas on domestic law.
569-589
Betlem, Gerrit
aedeeac7-b8af-4209-9caa-bee60854246d
Nollkaemper, André
2f7eb993-96bd-4113-9ee2-9eb0465ce043
Betlem, Gerrit
aedeeac7-b8af-4209-9caa-bee60854246d
Nollkaemper, André
2f7eb993-96bd-4113-9ee2-9eb0465ce043

Betlem, Gerrit and Nollkaemper, André (2003) Giving effect to public international law and European Community law before domestic courts: a comparative analysis of the practice of consistent interpretation. European Journal of International Law, 14 (3), 569-589. (doi:10.1093/ejil/14.3.569).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper explores differences and similarities in how domestic courts - mainly Dutch courts — apply two distinct forms of non-domestic law: public international law and European Community law. The article focuses on the application of the principle that dominates practice in both areas: that courts should, whenever possible, construe national law in conformity with, respectively, public international law and European Community law. This article offers a systematic comparison of how courts employ this principle. On the basis of a detailed analysis of the relevant national case law and the case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), it is argued that there is no fundamental divide between the application of public international law and EC law (despite the theoretically opposing starting points); differences in application are a matter of degree not of principle. The principle of consistent interpretation proves to be effective and of great practical importance in both areas and further testifies of similarities in the impact of the two areas on domestic law.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2003

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 17504
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/17504
PURE UUID: 8536a0ae-7c7a-47ec-bd8f-cf2f1a5d3d55

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 11 Oct 2005
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 06:00

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Gerrit Betlem
Author: André Nollkaemper

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×