Application of EU law by the domestic Judge
The effective application of EU law cannot be ensured by the EU and its courts alone. It depends strongly on domestic courts and individuals that initiate proceedings before these courts to enforce their rights under EU law. (Case 26/62 Van Gend & Loos [1963] ECR 1.)
EU law must be applied by the domestic judge because it enjoys precedence over internal law. (Case 6/64 Costa v Enel [1964] ECR 585, Case C 409/06 Winner Wetten [2010] ECR I 8015, paragraph 53.) Any conflicting provision of national law is inapplicable.
EU law can be applied by the domestic judge because it has direct effect, if it is sufficiently clear and unconditional. (Case 26/62 Van Gend & Loos [1963] ECR 1.) The provisions of the Treaties and of Regulations as such do not require any additional measures by Member States to become effective. In contrast, Directives foresee a transposition by Member States within a certain time-limit. Nevertheless, once the time-limit has expired Directives, too, can have direct effect. (Case 41/74 van Duyn [1974] ECR 1337, Case C 282/10 Dominguez [2012] ECR I 0000.)
EU law can also have indirect effects because all provisions of domestic law must be interpreted, so far as possible, in order to achieve the result sought by the relevant EU law. (Joined Cases C 397/01 to C 403/01 Pfeiffer and Others [2004] ECR I 8835, Case C 282/10 Dominguez [2012] ECR I 0000.)
Finally, EU law requires effective judicial protection, that is, if EU law creates rights, Member States must provide access to courts to enforce these rights. (Case 222/86 Heylens and others [1987] ECR 4097, Case C 240/09 Lesoochranárske zoskupenie [2011] ECR I 1255, paragraphs 48 to 51.)