Judicial Activism of the Court of Justice of the EU in a Pluralist Architecture of Global Law

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has played an active role in establishing the relationship between European law and other legal orders on the international arena, however without adopting a unique approach. With respect to the national legal orders it emphasises the supremacy, direct effect and effet utile of European law ; in cases concerning the ECHR - EU’s commitment to the respect of fundamental rights as guaranteed by the Convention. When dealing with norms of public international law, whether customary or stemming from international treaties, the CJEU seems to take a particular approach. It pays a lot attention to the internal perspective of the European legal order and the autonomy of EU law.

The analysis builds upon the foundations laid down by the doctrinal literature on the topics of constitutionalism and pluralism, the role of the CJEU in the process of European integration, and judicial activism. However, it provides a new perspective by putting them in a different context.

When discussing judicial activism in the jurisprudence of the CJEU concerning international law, like the Kadi and the BIT cases, one can observe that even though it constitutes a particular articulation of judicial activism, it fits into the line of the pro-integrationist jurisprudence of the CJEU aimed at strengthening the autonomous legal order of the EU.