The Responses of the Court of Justice of the European Union to the 'Rule of Law' Crisis in the EU

This article examines the Court of Justice of the European Union's (CJEU's) response to the 'rule of law' crisis in the European Union (EU). The crisis has exposed unresolved tensions in the EU legal order, which calls for a response from the EU. The reluctance of the political institutions to take action against Poland and Hungary has led to strident calls for the Court to fill the void. Drawing on Joseph Weiler's The Transformation of Europe, this article argues that support from the national level - from both courts and governments - is needed to legitimise changes to the EU's judicial architecture. Absent such support, the Court should tread carefully, in seeking to (re)create the habit of obedience on which the functioning of the EU legal order depends.