The term source of law is most often used in a formal sense, i.e. as a formal source of law. The sources of law are therefore the forms of law in which the law is contained and from which it formally originates, where it can be found and identified as a law established by the state, and thanks to this, its application or fulfilment can be sought (Prusák, 2001). In the EU legal sys-tem, there are several sources of law and there is a hierarchy among them. Those in the lower levels of the hierarchy are subject to those at a higher level, i.e. subordinate rules must respect rules at a higher level. Principal sources of EU law include:
• primary law,
• general principles established by the Court of Justice of the EU,
• international agreements with non-EU countries or with international organisations,
• secondary law,
• treaties made between the Member States,
• decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The supreme source of the EU law is a primary law. It consists of founding treaties, including annexes and protocols, as well as treaties and acts that amend and supplement the founding treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and accession treaties. Although these treaties were signed by the member states they differ from ordinary interna-tional treaties. They are considered to be the „constitutional charter“ of the EU.
At the very beginning, three founding treaties were signed, namely:
• Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (signed in 1951, entered into force in 1952), which expired in 2002,
• Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (signed in 1957, entered into force in 1958), the name of which was changed in 1993 to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in 2009 it was renamed to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),
• Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (signed in 1957, entered into force in 1958).
In addition, the Treaty on the European Union was signed in 1992, which entered into force in 1993. The founding treaties have been amended several times in the past. They lay down the values on which the EU is based, the objectives and powers of the EU, its institutional structure, relations between the Union and its member states, Union policies and internal ac-tions, i.e. the foundations of the functioning of the EU.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union , as part of primary EU law, pro-tects rights and freedoms such as:
• human dignity, the right to life, the right to the integrity of the person etc.,
• the right to liberty and security, respect for private and family life, protection of per-sonal data, the right to marry and found a family, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression and information etc.,
• equality before the law, non-discrimination, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity, equality between men and women, the rights of the child, the rights of the elderly, in-tegration of persons with disabilities,
• workers’ right to information and consultation within the undertaking, the right of col-lective bargaining and action, fair and just working conditions, prohibition of child la-bour and protection of young people at work, environmental protection, consumer pro-tection etc.,
• citizens’ rights such as the right to vote and stand as a candidate at elections to the Eu-ropean Parliament and at municipal elections, the right to good administration, the right of access to documents, European Ombudsman, the right to petition, freedom of movement and residence, diplomatic and consular protection,
• the right to an effective remedy and a fair trial, presumption of innocence and the right of defence etc.
Secondary law comprises legal acts adopted by EU institutions based on the competences granted to them by primary law. It provides a more detailed regulation compared to primary law. The TFEU sets out five basic types of secondary legislation, namely regulations, direc-tives, decisions, opinions and recommendations. They differ in terms of the addressee as well as the effect they have in the Member States. Depending on the specific type of secondary legislation, the addressees may be EU institutions, member states, natural or legal person. Re-garding the effect of secondary legislation, the direct applicability and binding nature are rele-vant. While regulations, directives and decisions are binding, opinions and recommendations are non-binding. The definition of five typical legal acts is provided by Article 288 of the TFEU. As they are adopted through the ordinary or a special legislative procedure, they are called legislative acts. In addition, EU institutions adopt other types of secondary legislation including delegated and implementing acts, communications, opinions, recommendations, white and green papers etc. Delegated acts as non-legislative acts supplement or amend certain non-essential parts of legislative acts. Implementing acts are adopted if uniform implementa-tion of legislative acts is required.
The regulation is generally applicable which means that its addressees are not specified. It can be compared to a national law. Its entire text, including the annexes, is binding. It is directly applicable in each member state without the need to be implemented into national legislation. As a result, the regulation simultaneously and uniformly throughout the EU establishes rights and obligations for legal entities of national law and they may invoke it directly before nation-al courts or public authorities.
The directive is a specific type of EU legislation that has no parallel in the structure of sources of national law. Unlike the regulation, it is not generally applicable, but it is addressed to the member states. It is binding on the Member States with respect to the objective to be achieved. Member States have the obligation to transpose the directive into national legisla-tion. They are, however, given discretion with respect to the form of a transposing act to be adopted as well as with respect to the methods, e.g. through which sanctions the result of the directive should be achieved. Unlike the regulation, the directive does not directly establish the rights and obligations of individuals. The rights and obligations of individuals only result from the national legislation adopted to implement the directive. Directives, unlike regula-tions, serve to gradually harmonize the national legislation of the member states, mainly in the area of the internal market.