At the invitation of the Dean of the Faculty of Law of Comenius University in Bratislava, Prof. Dr. Eduard Burda, a three-member delegation of the Curia of Hungary visited the Slovak capital on 17 September 2024 to participate in an international professional conference entitled Bratislava Legal Forum.
At a panel discussion on “The Impact of EU Membership on the Functioning of Supreme Judicial Institutions”, attended by the chief justices of the Visegrád countries, the President of the Curia has explained in his presentation that the constitutional dialogue between the EU’s supranational court and national supreme courts, previously based on the principle of equality, is changing.
The Court of Justice of the European Union may be involved at any level and at any stage of judicial proceedings pending before the courts of the Member States through the preliminary ruling procedure. This has implications for the traditional role of national supreme courts and constitutional courts. In addition to applying EU law, national supreme courts and constitutional courts also have to carry out their tasks under their national constitution – ensuring the uniform application of the law and defending their national constitution – because this is their fundamental function.
Cooperation between the supreme courts and constitutional courts of the Member States is the key to the simultaneous exercise of these dual functions. The legal instrument of the constitutional complaint may be of help in that respect. If a constitutional court annuls decisions of lower courts or even of the supreme court that are contrary to the national constitution, this opens the way to harmonising the requirements of the dual legal order.
Budapest, 18 September 2024
The Communications Department of the Curia of Hungary
