The relationship between European Union law and the constitutional law of the various Member States is frequently the subject of controversy, and Portugal is no exception. In Judgment No. 422/2020, the Portuguese Constitutional Court explained directly, for the first time, how it understood that relationship. Adopting an analytical perspective, this work seeks to explain the relationship between the European Union legal order and the Portuguese legal order.
Proceeding from the assumption that they constitute two originally independent legal orders, the interaction between them is explained on the basis of Article 8(4) of the Portuguese Constitution. This provision requires the application of rules of European Union law where they have been adopted in the exercise of powers conferred upon the European Union and are consistent with the fundamental principles of a democratic state governed by the rule of law.
The purpose of this work is therefore to examine the various instances of interaction between the two legal orders in light of these two conditions governing reception, from a perspective intended to remain politically neutral, as befits legal positivism.
