Premium
General Principles in EU Law between a Compensatory Role and an Intrinsic Value
Author(s) -
Semmelmann Constanze
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
european law journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.351
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1468-0386
pISSN - 1351-5993
DOI - 10.1111/eulj.12044
Subject(s) - generality , delicacy , confusion , legislation , value (mathematics) , relation (database) , legislature , phenomenon , law and economics , law , political science , epistemology , positive economics , sociology , economics , psychology , philosophy , mathematics , computer science , ecology , management , database , psychoanalysis , biology , statistics
The present contribution starts with an overview of the terminological and conceptual confusion underlying the notion of principle, its generality and the concept of the “general principles” in EU law. Far beyond the delicacy in relation to their genesis and nature, their interaction with other norms at the constitutional or legislative level deserves a closer look. For analytical purposes, a distinction will be drawn between, first, a view that conceives of general principles as self‐standing instruments, secondly, a combined reading of the respective general principle with relevant legislation and, thirdly, a view that is based exclusively on the application of the relevant legislative act. In the light of the Mangold‐Kücükdeveci cases and other cases involving equality or employment matters, the question will be raised of whether general principles merely serve to overcome deficits in relation to directives and are therefore often a transitional and compensatory phenomenon or whether they have an intrinsic value.