Guy Fiti Sinclair’s Approach and its Application to EU Law: the Development of the Rule of Law as a Case Study

Abstract

As theories on the development of the European Union do not give sufficient emphasis to aspects of EU law, it may be necessary to complement their application with other integration theories. To this end, the article intends to provide an analytical framework by relying on the field of the law of intergovernmental organisations. Guy Fiti Sinclair’s approach provides a framework to understand the expansion of powers in the case of intergovernmental organisations, an area not sufficiently explored concerning matters of EU law. The article examines the development of the rule of law based on the analytical framework. In addition to the introduction of the early context of the rule of law as well as the trends in the development of the rule of law in particular intergovernmental organisations, it also examines the position of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Court of Justice of the European Union and the understanding of the rule of law within the academic sphere of the 2010s. The article focuses on the ASJP case, which, due to its innovative nature, has significantly impacted the development of the interpretation of the rule of law within EU law. The article, therefore, aims to give a perspective to understand the development of the rule of law, relying on this analytical framework.