The “EU possesses an arsenal of tools to address dissuasively rule of law problems in the Member States,” our Research Affiliate Petra Bard argues in her article in European Law Journal.

“This shows the double nature of the EU's separation of powers problem. Whereas some states suffer from rule of law decline and a lack of limitation of governmental powers, there is a risk of the crumbling of separation of powers at the EU level, too, where institutions fail to adequately address rule of law violations,” she continues, adding that “against the EU institution's lack of forceful action towards rule of law backsliding, domestic courts try to protect judicial independence increasingly via preliminary references. Also, they attempt preventing the proliferation of the consequences of rule of law decline via judicial cooperation in the mutual trust/mutual recognition domain.”

The article explores “to what extent preliminary rulings can make up for the failure to use adequate EU tools of rule of law enforcement.”

Read the full article here.