European Union law (historically called "European Community law") is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law. The main sources of primary law are the Treaties establishing the European Union. Secondary sources include regulations and directives which are based on the Treaties. The legislature of the European Union is principally composed of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, which under the Treaties may establish secondary law to pursue the objective set out in the Treaties.
European Union law is applied by the courts of member states and where the laws of member states provide for lesser rights European Union law can be enforced by the courts of member states. In case of European Union law which should have been transposed into the laws of member states, such as Directives, the European Commission can take proceedings against the member state under the EC Treaty. The Court of Justice of the European Union is the highest court able to interpret European Union law. Supplementary sources of European Union law including case law by the Court of Justice, international law and general principles of European Union law.
Read more about European Union Law: Constitutional Law, Conflict of Laws, General Principles, Social Chapter, Internal Market and Free Movement, Competition Law, Criminal Law
Famous quotes containing the words european, union and/or law:
“European society has always been divided into classes in a way that American society never has been. A European writer considers himself to be part of an old and honorable tradition—of intellectual activity, of letters—and his choice of a vocation does not cause him any uneasy wonder as to whether or not it will cost him all his friends. But this tradition does not exist in America.”
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—H.L. (Henry Lewis)