In the legal order of the European Union (EU), the values contained in Article 2 TEU define the very identity of the Union as a common legal order. The common values, which include the rule of law, are embedded in the very DNA of the European integration project. In its landmark judgment in Associação Sindical dos Juízes Portugueses, the Court of Justice indicated the path towards defending the values contained in Article 2 TEU. Uphold...

The article deals with the implications that the values of the European Union have for the Member States, bearing in mind the central place of these values, listed in Article 2 TEU, in the European legal order. Among these values, the rule of law is the backbone of the modern democratic society. Courts of law – as independent arbitrators – are the guardians of the rule of law. Given the central role of national courts in the EU’s constitution...