Urszula Jaremba

Creating EU law judges: the role of generational differences, legal education and judicial career paths in national judges' assessment regarding EU law knowledge

ABSTRACT The judicial protection system in the European Union (EU) is premised on the fact that national judges are supposed to act as decentralized EU judges. This role is exercised through tools enshrined in, inter alia, primacy, direct and indirect effect of EU law, and the preliminary ruling procedure. However, a number of studies show that national judges experience difficulties in exercising EU competences due to their lack of knowledge in the field of EU law. In this contribution we study the differences in the level of self-evaluation of EU law knowledge among judges, which consequently influence the way judges approach EU law. For that purpose we question the relevance of several institutional and socio-legal factors, such as organization of the judiciary, generation, the system of legal education and judicial training and practical experience with EU law. Our analysis is based on data collected from German, Dutch, Polish and Spanish judges.

Interviewing Judges in the Transnational Context

This article addresses the problem of qualitative interviewing in the field of legal studies, and more precisely the practice of interviewing judges. In the last five years the authors of this article conducted two different research projects which involved interviewing judges as a research method. In this article the authors share their experience and views on the qualitative interviewing method, and provide the reader with an overview of the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ attached to this tool, but also its advantages and disadvantages.

National Judges As EU Law Judges: The Polish Civil Law System

In National Judges as EU law Judges: The Polish Civil Law System Urszula Jaremba examines the way civil judges in Poland function as decentralised EU judges. To this end, the author employs legal and empirical - that is to say quantitative and qualitative − methodology and theory.

The Europeanization of national judiciaries: definitions, indicators and mechanisms

ABSTRACT The article is underpinned by the idea that the national courts/judges are expected to act as decentralized European Union (EU) judges. This is motivated by the fact that the general knowledge concerning the impact of EU law on the functioning of national courts as EU judges and the process of Europeanization of national judiciaries is still somewhat scattered and fragmented. The central ambition of this article is to provide a theoretical framework that would contribute to the understanding of Europeanization of judiciaries by: (1) offering a definition and theoretical developments useful for the study of Europeanization and its dynamics; (2) exploring the diverse indicators to operate the concept; and (3) providing explanations on how Europeanization might happen by identifying the distinct mechanisms potentially in play. By and large, the article proposes theoretical and empirical developments, which will facilitate embracing the project of constructing a composite framework for the socio-legal study and measurement of the Europeanization of national courts.

Effectiveness of Private Enforcement of European Competition Law in Case of Passing-on of Overcharges: Implementation of Antitrust Damages Directive in Germany, France, and Ireland

The term ‘passing-on’ in the framework of private enforcement of European competition law has been a point of discussion for a considerable period of time now. The debate has elevated to its peak following the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter CJEU, Court of Justice or the Court) in case Courage and later Manfredi.1 In those milestone cases the Court supported the idea that any individual who suffers harm as a result of competition law infringement ought to be able to claim damages. As a result of this jurisprudential development, it soon became clear that the EU legislator will have to catch up with the idea of strengthening the position of individuals in private enforcement proceedings.

The Role of National Courts in the Process of Legal Integration in the European Union: Retrospective and Prospective

The functioning of national courts as decentralized EU courts has been and will likely remain one of the most constitutive, complex, and intriguing aspects of the process of integration in the European Union. The fact that the law of the European Union can directly affect interests of individuals in the EU, and may be invoked and relied upon by them before national courts, which are in turn obliged to protect the rights individuals derive from EU law, have tremendous implications for the functioning of national judiciaries, and can hardly be overstated. It is the aim of this contribution to briefly look at the development of the role national courts play in the process of legal integration within the EU and, consequently, provide several reflections on the preconditions which seem necessary for the proper fulfillment of the tasks that national judges are assigned by the law of the European Union.

EU Law Expectations Pertaining to National Judges

This chapter presents the factual duties and expectations that are placed on national courts by means of European Union (EU) acquis. It illustrates how national judges ought to function as decentralised EU law judges: namely, how they are expected to respond to EU law and to decide EU law cases. The chapter presents a theoretical model of the functioning of a national judge as an EU law judge. The national legal systems and sources have mostly been affected in the process of harmonisation through the adoption of EU regulations and directives pertaining to particular realms of substantive law. Furthermore, Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) case law has played an important role in the process of Europeanisation of national law, since the Court ensures that the law is observed in the interpretation and application of EU law.Keywords: CJEU; European Union (EU) law; national judges; national legal system; substantive law

Legal and Judiciary System in Poland

This chapter presents a general point of reference regarding the Polish legal system. It discusses the main features of the national legal system and the organisation of the judiciary system, with a special focus on civil jurisdiction. In addition, several aspects of the national legal culture and the characteristics of the Polish judicial community for instance, the system of legal education, judicial training, and nomination and career track, are analysed. The primary function of the Constitutional Tribunal (CT) is the control of hierarchical conformity of legal norms: that is, adjudicating on the conformity of the legal norms of lower rank to those considered superior, and eliminating the norms inconsistent with the system of law in force. The chapter illustrates the legal and operational framework in which Polish civil judges function. It highlights the potential problematic aspects these judges struggle within their role as decentralised European Union (EU) law judges.Keywords: Constitutional Tribunal (CT); European Union (EU) law; judiciary system; national legal culture; Polish civil judges; Polish judicial community; Polish legal system

Theoretical and Methodological Premises

This chapter explores the field of strict law but also seeks to determine whether and what legal and extra-legal phenomena influence this functioning. It widens the perspective in which the law operates by other determinants, be they social, economic, or cultural. Subsequently, the research questions are developed, followed by the methodological design. The overarching theory is too broad to be considered here in greater detail. The theoretical and methodological limitations of the empirical findings are also discussed. A school of New Legal Realism (NLR), which reaches for the theoretical grounds of Legal Realism, has emerged. The chapter explores the way officials behave when faced with questions involving European Union law, which exists in parallel to the national legal order. The main objective of the part of the analysis was to identify and describe features of the legal regime that are relevant to the actions of national judges.Keywords: European Union law; methodological limitations; national judges; New Legal Realism (NLR); overarching theory

Study of Legal Consciousness: Engagement, Passivity, or Resistance?

This chapter explores and assesses the three embodiments of legal consciousness by means of six vignettes so as to test the particular forms of legal consciousness. The vignettes revolve around the issue of supremacy of European Union (EU) law. The personal testimonies proved that confining the discourse on the functioning of national judges as EU law judges to answering the question as to whether judges conform to the principle of supremacy of EU law is not a satisfactory approach, either for seeing how national courts function as decentralised EU courts or for assessing the varieties of legal consciousness. The vignettes show that a large number of judges would base their application of EU law on other factors, such as circumstances of the case, equality of the parties, the nature of the civil law dispute, and the coherence and consistency of the line of jurisprudence.Keywords: civil law; EU courts; European Union (EU) law; legal consciousness; national courts; national judges