The Priority of Pre-Existing Treaties of EC Member States Within the Framework of International Law Pietro Manzini Full text available: PDF format * Abstract In order to draw a distinction between the Community legal order and other international organizations, the Court of Justice has always taken a rather prudent attitude towards the application of the principles of customary international law. However, in respect to Article 307 EC (ex Article 234) it has generally made a careful application of those principles. This article first examines the case law related to the subordination clause, contained in paragraph 1, of the EC Treaty vis-à-vis the pre-existing agreements concluded by the member states with third countries. Secondly, it focuses on two recent judgments concerning the obligation, established in paragraph 2, of the member states to eliminate incompatibilities with the EC Treaty found in pre-existing agreements. To find a solution for the two cases, the Court again made reference to the principles of international law, resisting the temptation to develop a particular doctrine, suggested by the Commission, concerning the relationships between earlier agreements and the EC Treaty. * The free viewer (Acrobat Reader) for PDF file is available at the Adobe Systems.
	© 1990-2004 European Journal of International Law All comments and suggestions should be sent to webmaster This site is part of the Academy of European Law online, a joint partnership of the Jean Monnet Center at NYU School of Law and the Academy of European Law at the European University Institute. This file was last modified: Thursday, November 20, 2003 01:37AM