1. Enforcement of European Union law
Direct effect

2. Relationship between national (domestic) law and international law
Monism. International law is part of the domestic legal order of a State. In this case, it is directly applied as if it was of domestic origin.
Dualism. International law is considered a separate legal order. It can’t be directly applied, but it needs to be incorporated into the domestic legal order through a national legal norm.

3. Van Gend En Loos (case 26/62) of 1963
«The Community constitutes a new legal order of international law for the benefit of which the States have limited their sovereign rights, albeit within limited fields, and the subjects of which comprise not only Member States but also their nationals. Independently of the legislation of Member States, Community Law therefore not only imposes obligations on individuals but is also intended to confer upon them rights which become part of their legal heritage».

4. … Van Gend En Loos
All European Law is directly applicable in the national legal orders, and is to be enforced in national courts.
Individuals are subject of EU law and individual rights and obligations can derive directly from EU law.
To be directly enforceable, a norm must be justiciable (self-executing)

5. … Van Gend En Loos: Direct effect of primary law
The facts of the case: art. 12 EEC contained a stand-still clause
The Netherlands had allegedly violated this clause
Van Gend en Loos, a Dutch import company, brought action aganst the Dutch government in a national court
The Dutch court referred a number of preliminary questions to the Court of Justice: in particular, whether a private party could enforce the EEC Treaty (an international treaty) in a national court

6. … Van Gend en Loos Position of the States
Any infringements by the States have to be addressed under the procedure in art. 258 and 259 TFEU.
The national court has the exclusive right to decide the effects of a treaty in the domestic legal order.
Legal rights of private parties can’t derive from the Treaties, but solely from legal measures enacted by the States.
Position of the Commission
The effects of the provisions of the Treaty on the national law of the Member States is determined by the Treaties themselves.
Art. 12 EEC is a rule of law capable of being effectively applied by the national court.
The fact that the provision is addressed to the states does not teke away from individuals the right to require it to be applied in the national courts

7. … Van Gend en Loos Decision of the Court:
The Court favored the constitutional view.
It follows from the spirit of the Treaty that European law is no ordinary international law. It can thus be directly applicable in the national legal orders.
Conditions for direct effect of Treaty provisions according to Van Gend en Loos:
the provision has to be clear
The provision has to be unconditional
The provision has to be absolute (it must not allow for reservations on the part of the States).

8. Direct effect of Treaty provisions. Scope
A provision has direct effect when it is capable of being applied by a national court.
Almost all Treaty prohibitions have direct effect, the direct effect being the normal feature of European law

9. Vertical and horizontal direct effect
Vertical effect: The possibility for an individual to invoke European law against the State. It implies that the Treaties only attribute rights to the individuals.
Horizontal effect: The possibility for an individual to invoke European law against another private party. It implies that the Treaties impose obligations on individuals. Defrenne case (1976): the prohibition on pay discrimination between men and women applies also to private employers.

10. Direct effect of directives
In principle the directive is binding on States, not within States.
Obligation of result
Dualist approach

11. … direct effect of directives - reasons
Case Van Duyn, 1974.
«it would be incompatible with the binding effects attributed to a directive to exclude, in principle, the possibility that the obligation which it imposes may be invoked by those concerned. In particular, where the Union authorities have, by directive, imposed on Member States the obligation to pursue a particular course of conduct, the useful effect of such an act would be weakened if the individuals were prevented from relying on it before their national courts and if the latter were prevented from taking it into consideration as an element of European law».

12. … direct effect of directives - reasons
Case Ratti, 1979.
«a Member State which has not adopted the implementing measures required by the directive in the prescribed periods may not rely, as against individuals, on its own failure to perform the obligations which the directive entails».

13. … direct effect of directives - limitations
Temporal
the direct effect of directives only arises after the failure of the State to implement the directive has occurred.
Normative
The direct effect of directives can operate only against the State (vertical effect)
No horizontal direct effect rule

14. The no horizontal direct effect rule
A directive may not impose obligations on an individual and a provision of a directive may not be relied upon as such against such a person (case Marshall, 1986).
Case Faccini Dori, It involved the directive on consumer contracts conlcuded outside business premises and the right of cancellation. Denial of horizontal direct effect.
A directive is binding only for the Member States;
the direct effect of directive exists to prevent States from taking advantage of their own failure to comply with EU law;
if horizontal effect was given to directives, the distinction between directives and regulations would disappear.

15. The no horizontal direct effect rule
Exception: Case CIA Security, Here the Court accepted the right of the private party to rely on a non implemented directive (on the obligation of notification to the Commission of new national regulations) against another private party, just affirming that the obligation in question was unconditional and sufficiently precise. Here we have a triangular effect. The private party (defendant) suffers the consequences of the failure of the State to implement the directive, while the plaintiff is allowed to invoke the directive in front of the national court. The non-notified technical regulations are thus not applicable to the party.

16. Indirect effects: the doctrine of consistent interpretation
General duty on national courts and administrations to interpret national law as far as possible in light of European law. The doctrine of consistent interpretation applies as a structural principle to all sources of of European law.

17. Indirect effects: the doctrine of consistent interpretation
Von Colson, 1984:
«the Member States’ obligation arising from a directive to achieve the result envisaged by the directive and their duty under article 4,3 TEU (principle of fair cooperation and solidarity) to take all appropriate measures, whether general or particular, to ensure the fulfilment of that obligation, is binding on all the authorities of Member States including, for matters within their jurisdiction, the courts. It follows that, in applying the national law, in particular the provisions of a national law specifically introduced in order to implement a directive, national courts are required to interpret their national law in the light of the wording and the purpose of the directive in order to achieve the result referred to in the third paragraph of article 288 TFEU». l

18. Indirect effects: the doctrine of consistent interpretation
Marleasing, 1990: after the expiry of the implementation period, national courts are under an obligation to implement the directive judicially through a European interpretation of national law.
The duty of consistent interpretation can thus lead to the indirect implementation of a directive by national courts.
Webb case, A lady was hired to replace a pregnant co-worker. When she discovered to be pregnant herself, Mrs Webb was dismissed and sued her employer. The court rejected, but the House of Lords, in appeal, requested a preliminary reference to the Court. The Court found that there was sex discrimination under the equal treatment directive, and the fact that Mrs Webb had been hired to replace another employee was irrelevant.
The duty of consistent interpretation has been considered like a de facto horizontal direct effect of the directive.

19. Indirect effects: the doctrine of consistent interpretation
As it has been said, while the doctrine of consistent interpretation is a method to avoid conflicts, the doctrine of supremacy is a method to solve unavoidable conflicts