The rule of law in the twilight zone : administrative sanctions within the European composite administration

• In this article, I focus on the area of administrative sanctions within the European composite administration. Many pieces of secondary EU law contain requirements that member states are to provide effective deterrent measures in order to uphold respect for the material EU law provisions, but leave to the member states to apply their own rules on administrative sanctions. The practice of referring questions of sanctions to national law is a consequence of the reluctance displayed by the member states to hand over their sanctioning powers to the EU.Underthe case law of the European Court of Human Rights, administrative sanctions can on certain conditions be defined as criminal charges according to Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights, and must be handled accordingly. TheCourt of Justice of the European Union, CJEU, has followed thiscase law.The principle of legality is central in relation to criminal charges and penalties, a notion that is also acknowledged in Article 49 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU Charter). By leaving the matter of regulating administrative sanctions to the member states, the sanctions can be applied under one comprehensive set of rules, within the legal system of the member state. However, according to well-established case law, member states are obliged to ensure that sanctions for infringements of provisions of union law are “effective, proportionate and dissuasive”. Further, the CJEU has on several occasions held that the general principles of EU law, as well as the EU Charter, are also applicable to national laws of sanction. In more recent secondary legislation, for example the General Data Protection Regulation, the EU has enacted rules that regulate how national laws on sanctions are to be applied. Even this area of the European composite administration is thereby becoming more integrated. 

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Juridik -- Juridik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Law -- Law (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Rule of law

administrative sanctions

European composite administrative

general principles

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