Still on the independence of the judiciary in the european union: Revisiting the responsibility of the state-judge liability for breach of union law and its applications in portuguese jurisprudence

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the rule of law crisis in Europe, the present article discusses the centrality of the principle of judicial independence in the European Union. Aiming to make a connection between the latter guarantee and the rights of European citizens, the article revisits the caselaw of the Court of Justice of the European Union on state liability under EU law due to acts committed by the judiciary. It departs thus from the Köbler judgement to the decision in Ferreira da Silva e Brito, highlighting the main conclusions deriving from said cases on this matter; and analysing afterwards some jurisprudence of high courts in Portugal with the objective of clarifying the impact of said case-law on the national judicial practice.