The role of effet utile in preserving the continuity and authority of European Union law : evidence from the citation web of the pre-accession case law of the court of justice of the EU

Abstract

Effet utile is one of the most contested terms in European case law. The present article empirically analyses its occurrences in the case law across time, legal fields and argumentative contexts. It thereby demonstrates that the main function of effet utile is to mitigate the entrenchment and extension of fundamental doctrines: primacy, direct effect and human rights. On this basis, the article argues that effet utile is primarily a rhetorical instrument used by the Court of Justice of the European Union to decouple legal principles from the practical effects of its decisions with the objective of persuading Member States to accept the authority of European law without compromising its normative coherence and continuity. The analysis is an important contribution to a comprehensive understanding of effet utile and offers a deeper insight into the long-term maintenance of supranational judicial authority.