[...]... known from the case law of the European Court of Justice In its case law the ECJ had recognized two of these areas of exclusive competence The first of these 11╇ The Declaration on nationality of a Member State, attached to the Maastricht Treaty, states that: ‘(…) wherever in the Treaty establishing the European Community reference is made to nationals of the Member States, the question whether an individual... finding the law, the Court may also turn to sources outside Union law Examples of these other sources are the constitutional traditions of the Member States, international treaties, and even international customary law In line with this, the second consequence of the formulation of Article€19 TEU is that the Court also decides over the nature and quality of EU law In this respect, the goals of the Union... context signifies the ultimate objective and the deeper purpose of the entire process of European integration But what is the “telos” of the Community today? Is it still that of the founders, if even they were agreed in that respect?’ 71╇ 1.3 Ensuring that the Law Is Observed? The Mandate of the European Court of Justice 17 objective, namely the common market, had been at the very heart of the integration... explains the centrality of the principle of attributed powers: This is actually the default situation for international organisations In the case of the EC, the principle of conferred powers was so obvious to the founders of the Community that they did not even include it in the EC Treaty It only obtained its place in the Treaties as a result of the amendments made by the Maastricht Treaty In that sense, the. .. is the autonomy of European Union law, or the celebrated sui generis character, i.e., the very nature of Union law This is what makes them worthy of closer scrutiny Though they emerge under various names in scholarly reflections on EU law, in essence, they harbour the problem of the competence creep One of the criticisms often raised against implied powers is that acknowledging them would amount to the. .. endanger the attainment of a common goal.41 Furthermore, there is another new element in the considerations of the ECJ The Agreement concerning the laying-up fund under discussion in the Opinion, also envisaged the establishment of a Fund Tribunal empowered ‘to give preliminary rulings (…) [that] may concern not only the validity and interpretation of decisions adopted by the organs of the fund, but also the. .. Attributed Powers: The Implied Powers Doctrine 11 what is essential for the decision on the exclusivity of an EC external competence is ‘a uniform and consistent application of the Community rules (…) The purpose of the exclusive competence of the Community is primarily to preserve the effectiveness of Community law and the proper functioning of the systems established by its rules, independently of any limits... considerations of the Court are often similar in the different cases: It links internal and external competences together, and refers to the objectives of the Treaty and the principles of loyal cooperation and effectiveness Moreover, while recognising the existence of implied powers of the Union, the Court claims to remain within the ambit of the Treaty If we take implied powers in the wide formulation,... I will briefly look into the preliminary question procedure and the so-called ‘constitutionalisation’ of the EC Treaty Together the topics discussed in this Section give a reasonably good picture of how the ECJ regards its own task The first part of the first paragraph of Article€19 TEU says: The Court of Justice of the European Union shall include the Court of Justice, the General Court and specialised... shall ensure that in the interpretation and application of the Treaties the law is observed.’ Commenting on this article, some scholars link it directly to the issue of competence and note that the ECJ ‘is thus required to ensure that the other bodies act within the limits of their respective powers.’65 Others focus more on the vague nature of the provision and argue that the law should be interpreted . alt="" The Passivity of Law