EU LAW AND ITS PRINCIPLES IN DECISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND BEFORE JOINING THE EU: EXPERIENCE FOR UKRAINE

Abstract

The study of the Polish experience of relevant state-legal transformations is important from the standpoint of Ukraine's European integration progress. The activity of the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland, which was involved in the European integration process, is an important aspect. Such experience of the court of constitutional jurisdiction of Poland can be useful in preparing Ukraine for direct membership in the EU. This is especially appropriate given the EU’s demand for Ukraine, such as reforming the procedure for selecting judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the further functioning of this institution. The Constitutional Tribunal of the Republic of Poland, after the adoption in 1997 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Law on the Constitutional Tribunal, based on them, joined the European integration process initiated by the 1991 Association Agreement. In the first years, decisions that mentioned EU law, its individual principles, and also indicated the need to take them into account in the process of law-making and legal interpretation, were few in number. However, when the negotiation process between the Republic of Poland and the EU on membership reached the finish line, the activity of the Constitutional Tribunal application of EU law and its principles increased. In general, the decisions of the Constitutional Tribunal in 1997–2004, from the point of view of application of EU law and its principles, can be divided into three groups: decisions adopted taking into account EU law and its principles; decisions that contain a reference to EU law; decisions that did not contain references to EU law. After May 1, 2004, the practice of Constitutional Tribunal in the application of EU law and its principles became more active, sometimes even controversial. Currently, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in its decisions refers to the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine on the European identity of the Ukrainian people and the irreversibility of Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic course, as well as EU law and its principles. This allows, by analogy with the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland, to make assumptions about the increasing intensity of application of EU law and its principles, as Ukraine approaches EU membership and expands the range of relevant legal relations.