Effective judicial protection: enforcement, judicial federalism and the politics of EU law

The general principle of effective judicial protection grants the right to obtain a remedy in the fields covered by EU law and is an essential component of the EU enforcement toolkit. Recent jurisprudential developments have complexified the role of this principle, by transforming it into a vehicle for the enforcement of the rule of law in the EU. As a result, the principle of effective judicial protection appears as the factotum of the EU legal system: it acts as a fundamental right and is an expression of the EU rule of law; furthermore, it is a legal basis to influence national fundamental rights and to impose procedural obligations on the EU institutions. This overview Article offers a novel account of the evolution of this principle in the EU legal landscape. First, it reflects on the trajectory of this evolving principle in the EU case law and in the academic discourse. Second, it identifies conceptual issues surrounding the role of effective judicial protection in the EU legal order in the light of the latest jurisprudential developments.