Abstract:

The constitutions of the old and new Member States offer a wide range of models in terms of their adjustment for EU membership, with a number of them containing minimal or even no references to the EU. This paper highlights the importance of adequate amendments in light of selected recent judgments by the highest courts in Poland, Estonia and Latvia, where judges have found themselves in the rather vexed situation of having to find pragmatic solutions to ensure the constitutionality of legislation without jeopardising the supremacy of EC law. In this process, certain constitutional provisions that conflict with EC/EU law appear to have been put on hold, prompting the question of whether a move towards greater ‘constitutional amorphousness’ has tacitly been accepted by virtue of EU accession.

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