The Relationship of the Croatian Constitutional Court and Supreme Court to the Court of Justice of the European Union in National Case Law

Abstract

After a short introduction to Croatia’s accession to the EU, this paper deals with the obligations for national courts arising from EU membership in a historical overview and the current state. Furthermore, the relationship between the Croatian Constitutional Court, the Croatian Supreme Court, and the Court of Justice of the European Union in national case law is analysed. In addition, the hierarchy of national and EU laws is questioned, as is the notion of constitutional identity. The relationship between the national constitutional courts of the EU member states, the national Supreme Court, and the CJEU is not conceived as a relation of subordination, but of communication and dialogue, the ultimate goal of which is the harmonisation of the acquis of the EU member states and legal security for all its citizens, while at the same time respecting the specificities of each member state.