INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE THE POSITION OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS FOLLOWING INTEGRATION INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION Bled, Slovenia 30 September – 2 October 2004 PROCEEDINGS ZBORNIK MEDNARODNA KONFERENCA POLOŽAJ USTAVNIH SODIŠČ PO VKLJUČITVI V EVROPSKO UNIJO Bled, Slovenija 30. september – 2. oktober 2004 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 5 THE ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA 6 CONTRIBUTIONS 10 Venice Commission Prof. Dr. Didier Maus 10 European Court of Human Rights Prof. Dr. Luzius Wildhaber 27 Court of Justice of the European Communities Prof. Dr. Vassilios Skouris 37 European Ombudsman Prof. Dr. Nikiforos Diamandouros 48 Constitutional Court of the Republic of Austria Prof. Dr. Heinz Schäffer 57 Constitutional Court of the Republic of Italy Prof. Dr. Valerio Onida 98 Federal Constitutional Court of Germany Prof. Dr. Winfried Hassemer 106 Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia Prof. Dr. Ciril Ribičič 119 Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia Prof. Dr. Mirjam Škrk 137 Supreme Court of Cyprus Dr. Christos Artemides 159 Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic Dr. Jiři Mucha 163 Supreme Court of the Republic of Estonia Prof. Dr. Eerik Kergandberg 171 Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania Prof. Dr. Egidijus Küris 179 Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia Prof. Dr. Aivars Endziņš 208 Constitutional Court of the Republic of Hungary Prof. Dr. Attila Harmathy 219 Polish Constitutional Tribunal Prof. Dr. Marian Grzybowski 227 Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic Prof. Dr. Ján Mazák 236 DECLARATION 245 INTRODUCTION The international conference on “The Position of Constitutional Courts Following Integration into the European Union”, which the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia organised in cooperation with the Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) of the Council of Europe, was held in Bled from 30 September to 2 October 2004. The official languages of the conference were Slovene, English, French, and German. The conference was dedicated to an exchange of the experiences of the presidents and judges of the constitutional courts of the accession countries (the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia), some member states of the European Union (Austria, Italy, Germany), the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Ombudsman, and the Venice Commission. Representatives of the Constitutional Courts of Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania also attended the conference as observers. The main subject of the conference was the impact of EU integration on the position of the constitutional courts, and how these constitutional courts are prepared to meet the new challenges that lie ahead. The conference papers gathered in these Proceedings present national constitutional amendments connected with European Union accession, the previous experiences of some constitutional courts concerning the legal order of the European Union, and open issues raised in connection with the application of the legal order of the European Union. The contributions of the participants in the official languages of the conference are published in the texts that they submitted for publication, whereas the Slovenian and certain English abstracts of the papers were prepared by the editors of the Proceedings. The participants judged the conference to be a great success, and concluded the event with a declaration which is included in these Proceedings. I would like to thank the following colleagues for their contributions to a successful completion of the Proceedings: Dean DeVos, Tina Florijančič, Petra Mahnič, LL.M., Lidija Novak, Dr. Marko Novak, Nataša Skubic, Urška Umek, and Lea Zore. Dr. Arne Marjan Mavčič Editor of the Proceedings 5 THE POSITION OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS FOLLOWING INTEGRATION INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION The Address of the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia to the Participants of the International Conference on the Position of Constitutional Courts Following Integration into the European Union Dear Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, In his article on constitutional democracy Prof. Hassemer, Vice-President of the German Federal Constitutional Court, emphasized that the development of the constitutional judiciary in the first half of the 20th century is a result of the recognition that the decisions of the majority are not correct merely because they are reached by the majority. Today we cannot even imagine a democratic state without a constitutional court or highest court exercising constitutional review. In the system of the separation of powers, which is the basis of every democratic system, it is the constitutional court which checks and balances the other branches of power. The constitutional court, as the supreme guardian of the constitution, has the final word in the review of the conformity of the acts of all state authorities with the constitution. Following accession to the European Union and the assumption of the European legal order, the constitutional courts found themselves in a completely new situation – that of facing a system of legal norms which, in relation to their domestic regulations, have a unique position. By the transfer of the implementation of part of their sovereign rights to the European Union the member states recognized the supremacy of the European legal order over the domestic legal order. The norms of European law cannot be placed in the hierarchy of legal norms; they have a supra-state position and, in some sense, also a supra-constitutional significance. Neither the accession treaty nor any other legal source of the European Community contain provisions that refer to the position and jurisdiction of the constitutional courts of member states. However, the question is raised what their role is in relation to the legal acts of the Community, and which criteria should be applied in the review of domestic regulations which entail the implementation of European law. While constitutional courts have for some time been aware of the fact that, in the area of human rights protection, they do not have the “final word,” and have accepted the standards which the European Court of Human Rights, in Strasbourg, has set in this area, their position in relation to the Court of Justice of the European Communities, in Luxemburg, is much more complicated. The effective operation of all three legal systems – national legal systems, European Community law, and the system of human rights protection in the framework of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights – can be ensured only by means of cooperation between the constitutional courts of the member states and both European courts. 6 POLOŽAJ USTAVNIH SODIŠČ PO VKLJUČITVI V EVROPSKO UNIJO It is a great honour to announce that the presidents of the two highest European judicial institutions also accepted the invitation to attend the Conference. Professor Luzius Wildhaber, President of the European Court of Human Rights, and Professor Vassilious Skouris, President of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, will present their views concerning the mutual relation between the two courts, and the relation of these courts to the constitutional courts of the member states. We are aware of the fact that there are no uniform and final answers to the questions which constitutional courts face upon integration into the European Union. We are convinced, however, that the experiences of the constitutional courts of the present member states will greatly assist us in this effort. Therefore, it is a pleasure to welcome the representatives of the three most respected European constitutional courts: – the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Italy, Professor Valerio Onida, – the Vice-President of the German Federal Constitutional Court, Professor Winfried Hassemer, – and the Substitute Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Austria, Professor Heiz Schäffer. Please allow me, once again, to welcome you and wish you a pleasant stay in Slovenia. I would also like to thank you for your willingness to actively participate in the Conference. I am delighted to mention that the presidents or representatives of the constitutional courts of all the new EU member states are participating in the Conference (with the exception of Malta, which was forced to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances). Furthermore, the presidents of the constitutional courts of a number of candidate states have also accepted our invitation. I am convinced that a mutual exchange of opinions and experiences will contribute to a better understanding and easier resolution of the issues connected with integration into the European Union. 7 THE POSITION OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS FOLLOWING INTEGRATION INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION Nagovor predsednice Ustavnega sodišča Republike Slovenije udeležencem Mednarodne konference o položaju ustavnih sodišč po vključitvi v Evropsko unijo Spoštovani gostje, gospe in gospodje! Prof. Hassemer, podpredsednik nemškega Zveznega ustavnega sodišča, je v pri- spevku o ustavni demokraciji zapisal, da je razvoj ustavnega sodstva v drugi polovici 20. stoletja rezultat spoznanja, da odločitve večine niso pravilne že zgolj zato, ker so odločitve večine. Danes si skoraj ne moremo zamisliti demokratične države, ki ne bi imela ustavnega sodišča oziroma najvišjega sodišča z ustavnosodno jurisdikcijo. V sistemu delitve oblasti, ki je temelj