‘The Court of the Last Word.’ Competences of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal in the Review of European Union Law
‘The Court of the Last Word.’ Competences of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal in the Review of European Union Law

Summary/Abstract: In its judgment of 16 November 2011 in case SK 45/09, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal (CT) called itself ‘the court of the last word.’ This self-determination aptly characterises the entire hitherto delivered line of jurisprudence of the Tribunal in European matters. In spite of the persevering doubts as to the scope of its jurisdiction at the juncture of EU and Polish law, eventually the CT has always come to confirm its competence to review the conformity of challenged EU law provisions with the Polish Constitution. The approach of the CT reflects the way the Court understands the constitutional principle of the primacy of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land in Poland. The aim of this article is to present and analyse the legal views of the Constitutional Tribunal regarding the review in Polish courts of European Union law. Firstly the article concentrates on the review of primary EU law as to its compatibility with the Polish Constitution, and then on the review of secondary EU law. The article also tries to answer the question whether the position taken by the Constitutional Tribunal and its argumentation is consistent with both EU law and Polish constitutional law, and what the consequences are for the jurisdiction of the¸CT and constitutional claims.

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