The Principle
The ECJ first articulated the doctrine of direct effect in the case of Van Gend en Loos, the European Court of Justice laid down the criteria (commonly referred to as the "Van Gend criteria") for establishing direct effect. The EU article provision must:
- be clear,
- negative,
- unconditional,
- containing no reservation on the part of the member state, and
- not dependent on any national implementing measure.
If these criteria are satisfied, then the right or rights in question can be enforced before national courts. Of course whether or not any particular measure satisfies the criteria is a matter of EU law to be determined by the EU Courts.
Read more about this topic: Direct Effect
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