The article examines the notion of “common constitutional traditions” of the European Union Member States looking for the content of this open-ended term. It is agreed and even on the international level that fundamental rights are the part of the common constitutional traditions, but in this article, it is suggested to connect the notion with the notion of the general principles of law thus obtaining more comprehensive and elaborate understanding of what the content of the common constitutional traditions really involve. General principles of law are a common source of law to all the legal arrangements of the European Union Member States as they are derived from the same Basic Norm – democratic state based on the Rule of Law, and fundamental rights are only one part of the general principles of law as they are much wider notion. That is why looking from the perspective of the general principles of law as common source of law of all the legal arrangements based on the Basic Norm – democratic state based on the Rule of Law common constitutional traditions besides the human rights involve also legal methods and those general principles of law which govern the system requirements for the legal arrangement.

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This article deals with the issue of the temporal effect of a legal norm from the perspective of the general principles of law – the principle of good legislation and the principle of the protection of legitimate expectations. The practical aspects of the identifying possible retroactive effect of a legal norm which as agreed by legal doctrine is one of the most difficult legal methods to be applied are analysed on the basis of the recent case law of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia. All three examples show that first of all the temporal effect of a contested legal norm has to be detected; and in a case if it is immediate or retroactive effect, the existence of legitimate expectations has to be identified; and following, if reasonable transitional period to a new regulation or appropriate compensation is provided by a legislator. Moreover, when determining the period for the transition to a new legal regulation or appropriate compensation, legislator according to the principle of good legislation has to ascertain fully and in a comprehensive manner the impact of a contested norm on the already existing – pending (or even more – on finished) legal relations.

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National doctrine of sources of law is characterised by several criteria, namely, it is original from the perspective of the titles of the sources of law and the types of the sources of law; it belongs to the particular system of law; it is also reflective – it reflects the basic norm of the given legal arrangement, as well as the authoritative meaning of law at the specific time; and it is changeable – it develops alongside the development of the legal arrangement itself. The basis for the national doctrine of sources of law in Latvia was set already in the 1920s, while Juris Jelāgins is considered to be the founder of the contemporary national doctrine of sources of law.