On 21 March 2023, the European Commission brought infringement proceedings against Malta in the Court of Justice of the European Union for its continued refusal to end a perceived ‘golden passport’ investor citizenship scheme whereby Maltese citizenship, and hence citizenship of the EU, could be created by naturalisation. It asserted that Maltese naturalisation in those circumstances is not compatible with the principle of sincere cooperation enshrined in Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union (‘TEU’) by which ‘the Union and the Member States shall, in full mutual respect, assist each other in carrying out tasks which flow from the Treaties’, or the concept of Union citizenship provided for at Article 9 TEU and Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’). The Court’s website indicates that the Commission ‘maintains that the programme is at odds with EU treaties, which require citizenship to be based on a “genuine link” to the country, such as a physical residency requirement. In turn the Maltese government insists that citizenship is…
Court of Justice of the European Union
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Doing too much and too little: The CJEU’s approach to judicial review of fundamental rights breaches in the CFSP after KD and KS
On 10 September 2024, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered its judgment in the joint cases KD and KS v Council and Others. The case is significant as it further expands the jurisdiction of the CJEU in the field of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) despite the…
Joined Cases C-779/21 P, Commission v Front Polisario and C-799/21 P, Council v Front Polisario: The Unresolved Contest Between ‘Benefits’ and ‘Consent’
On 4 October, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice upheld the General Court’s annulment of a Council Decision concluding an Amendment to the EU-Morocco Association Agreement. It did so on the grounds that the EU Commission and Council had failed to obtain the consent of the Saharawi people and thereby violated their right…
AG Ćapeta’s Western Sahara Opinions: Undermining the Law of Decolonization
The law on decolonization has two primary objectives: transfer power from colonizer to people in accordance with their will and protect the people until that happens. On 21 March 2024, Advocate General Ćapeta delivered three linked opinions at the European Court of Justice that seriously undermine these objectives. The cases concern EU trade agreements with Morocco purporting to…
The EU General Court’s Judgment in WS & Others v Frontex: What Could International Law on the Responsibility of International Organizations Offer in Grasping Frontex’ Responsibility?
Setting the scene: the facts and the ruling On 6 September 2023, the General Court as the first instance jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down the very first ruling which concerned the non-contractual liability of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) for damages caused to individuals by…
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