The ECJ and Judicial Activism

Abstract: The imprint of the European Court of Justice on the European Integration has been historical. The sole purpose of the Court‘s establishment was aimed at faithful interpretations of the legal texts; nevertheless, over the years, the Court has broadened the scope of its authority, and has become an important institutional player of the Union. Under the Court‘s agency, the legal facia of the European Union has changed drastically, and so has the direction of the integrative process. The Court‘s innovative and creative interpretations of the Treaties have allowed it to introduce the most revolutionary legal concepts, some of them being the doctrine of direct affect and the supremacy rule. With the introduction of these legal concepts, the legal system of the Union has acquired a constitutional dimension while the Union itself has become a political phenomenon with an unprecedented character. On the way to consolidate the legal system of the European Union, the Court has not manoeuvred alone. Other institutional agents have contributed to the creation of the project as we know it today. In the light of these facts, the author of the project at hand explores the influential work of the European Court of Justice, while taking into consideration structural/functional means, motives and opportunities available to Court to exercise its authority. Also, the author dedicates time to delving on the special relationships established with other institutional actors while consulting theoretical accounts of the same. Ultimately, the essay attempts to contribute to the body of scholarship making assumptions about the role that the ECJ has played in Europe‘s integrative process.