Who speaks on our behalf?

National identity and constitutional adjudication in the European Union

Autores

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34625/issn.2183-2705(38)2025.jur-02

Palavras-chave:

National identity, Data retention, National security, Portuguese Constitutional Court, Court of Justice of the European Union

Resumo

Com a crescente influência do Tribunal de Justiça da União Europeia (“TJUE”) em aspetos tradicionalmente considerados parte essencial da soberania dos Estados-Membros, os tribunais constitucionais nacionais têm invocado cada vez mais a identidade nacional para escapar ao primado do Direito da UE. Esta tensão é particularmente notória relativamente às competências fundamentais do Estado, que são intrínsecas à identidade nacional e à legitimidade constitucional dos Estados-Membros.

Este artigo explora como a identidade nacional é utilizada pelos tribunais constitucionais nacionais para resistir ao primado do Direito da UE. Tomamos a experiência portuguesa como ponto de partida, examinando o voto de vencido da juíza Joana Fernandes Costa no último acórdão do Tribunal Constitucional português sobre a retenção de dados, no qual ela levanta preocupações sobre até que ponto a jurisprudência do TJUE sobre a matéria permite que o direito da UE se sobreponha a questões fundamentais de segurança nacional, tais como garantir a segurança e a paz.

O principal argumento levantado é que, embora as reivindicações de identidade nacional possam servir de base para os tribunais nacionais resistirem ao primado do Direito da UE, estas também devem levar em consideração o acordo que os povos da Europa alcançaram ao aderir à UE.

Referências

Jurisprudence

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COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Judgment of the Court, Cases C-203/15 and C-698/15 (Tele2 Sverige) [online]. Luxembourg: [s. n.], 2016. Available from: <https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62015CJ0203>.

COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Judgment of the Court, Cases C-511/18, C-512/18 and C-520/18 (La Quadrature du Net) [online]. Luxembourg: [s. n.], 2020. Available from: <https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62018CJ0511>.

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TRIBUNAL CONSTITUCIONAL DE PORTUGAL. Declaração de voto de Joana Fernandes Costa ao Acórdão n.o 800/2023 [online]. Lisbon : [s. n.], 2023. Available from: <https://www.tribunalconstitucional.pt/tc/acordaos/20230800.html>.

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Publicado

2025-09-03

Como Citar

Arga e Lima, F., & PEREIRA COUTINHO, F. (2025). Who speaks on our behalf? National identity and constitutional adjudication in the European Union. Revista Jurídica Portucalense, 1(38), 24–48. https://doi.org/10.34625/issn.2183-2705(38)2025.jur-02