EFFET UTILE AS A SOURCE OF EU LAW

Abstract

One of the most potent instruments in the expansion of the scope of EU law is that of effect utile of the European legal order. The topic of this article is the development and meaning of this legal institute, as well as its practical implications, in particular its capacity to generate new legal norms, which have no direct basis in the Treaties or secondary EU legislation. Through a critique of effect utile and a review of some important recent judgments of the EU Court of Justice, an attempt is made to find the limits of this legal institute.