EU Court: national judges can refuse constitutional rules in conflict with European law

Brussels – EU law always prevails over national law. For those who still had doubts or misconstrued that sovereignism is the same as sovereignty, the Court of Justice of the EU makes it clear: a national judge is not obliged to apply a decision of its constitutional court that infringes EU law. Therefore, even constitutional provisions created by the Constitutional Court can oppose EU law.

The judgment arose from a case in the Romanian courts. A dispute started following a death after an accident at work, which the administrative judge did not consider as such. According to national law, as interpreted by the Romanian Constitutional Court, this decision by the administrative judge prevents the criminal court from reconsidering whether the accident constitutes an accident at work. However, the Luxembourg judges note that this is contrary to the work safety directive and, specifically, the right of family members to be heard.

Given the existence of European regulations, these must be followed. The Court of Justice is clear on the matter: national judges “must be able to refuse” to follow a decision of their constitutional court if that decision conflicts with Union law. In that case, judges “cannot incur disciplinary penalties.”