Loyalty vs. Sovereignty

• Main Author: Carl Baudenbacher
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: German; English
• Published: Max Steinbeis Verfassungsblog GmbH
• Subjects: EEA; EFTA; room for manoeuvre; droit; hist; Norway; Pillar; Iceland
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/2d436ad721bc4b619266d482527f7d41

The German Constitutional Court’s Weiss ruling has led to a major debate as to whether a national supreme court may disregard ECJ case law, asserting that the ECJ had acted ultra vires. Similar debates have existed for quite some time in the EFTA pillar of the EEA, consisting of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. A relatively small but powerful group of lawyers in the Norwegian administration (led by the Government Attorney), orthodox dualist professors and judges loyal to the government has used Norway’s dominant position to attempt to redefine EEA law. One of the most effective strategies is the suppression of the notion of loyalty or good faith and its replacement by a strategy of creating “room for manoeuvre” (“RFM”) for Norway.