external dimension of the autonomy of EU law

What is it about?

The concept of ‘autonomy of European Union (EU) law’ has received, since its judge-made inception in the 1960s, remarkably little academic attention particularly from the theoretical or conceptual angle when compared to other basic EU law premises, like supremacy or direct effect. The autonomous nature of this distinct body of law has been taken for granted by many EU law scholars and other related topics have been in the spotlight which is evident by the ever-expanding literature dealing with the legal effects of international law within the EU legal order as well as the external relations law of the EU. These legal issues cannot be properly understood without an in-depth knowledge about the wider context of these interactions and how autonomous the EU legal order is from the international legal system. This piece attempts to clarify the meaning of the external dimension of autonomy of EU law and discuss some of the associated challenges. The theoretical prerequisites of any ‘legal order’, including its autonomous regime of validity and its mechanism guaranteeing the unity of interpretation will also be briefly studied. The hype that Opinion 2/13 created around this aspect of EU law autonomy, is worth a more general and holistic approach and thus this article will not be limited within the perimeters of this landmark Opinion. Due to the limited length of this article, Opinion 2/13 will only be touch upon, to a necessary extent, with a view to demonstrating the evolution of the external dimension of the autonomy of EU law against the backdrop of the CJEU’s previous jurisprudence. Subsequently, the paper will portray the various legal techniques and substantive requirements for preserving the external autonomy of the EU legal order from international law. The article finishes with some conclusions and an outlook for the future.

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