Interpreting European Law: Judicial Adjudication in a Context of Constitutional Pluralism

Abstract

There is an emerging body of literature which describes a context of constitutional pluralism, in particular by reference to the EU legal order and its relationship with national legal orders. Usually such constitutional pluralism identifies the phenomenon of a plurality of constitutional sources which creates a context of potential constitutional conflicts between different constitutional orders to be solved in a non-hierarchical manner. Such context affects the role of courts and the character of judicial adjudication. In this essay I want to focus on the European Court of Justice and how its role is impacted by and needs to be adapted to such context of constitutional pluralism. Moreover, I want to undertake this analysis by reference to a broad notion of pluralism. This pluralism expresses a new context in which courts (including the ECJ) have to exercise their judicial function. In this respect, it is necessary to distinguish between the internal and external sources of pluralism in the European Union legal order.