For decades, EU law was a genuine source of English law — and an unusual one, capable of sitting above even an Act of Parliament. Although the UK has left the EU, this story is far from academic history: huge swathes of today's domestic law began life as EU law, and a solicitor must understand where it came from to interpret and apply it correctly. In a small but live area, EU rules still bite directly in Northern Ireland.
This lesson walks you through that journey from start to finish:
- EU Law and EU Legislation — how EU law entered English law and the difference between regulations and directives.
- Supremacy and Direct Effect — why EU law prevailed over conflicting statutes, and how it created enforceable individual rights.
- Direct Effect of Different Instruments — which instruments bind whom, and the special limits on directives.
- Indirect Effect and State Liability — the fallback routes when direct effect alone won't help a claimant.
- Preliminary References — how questions of EU law reached the CJEU, and why that route has now closed.
- EU Law After Brexit — retained law, assimilated law, and what still survives under the Windsor Framework.