The Autonomy of the EU Legal Order and International Dispute Settlement in the Wake of Opinion 1/17

This article examines the problems connected with the participation of the EU in international dispute settlement in the light of Opinion 1/17. It focuses on the question of the autonomous nature of the EU legal order. Opinion 1/17 is the last one of a wave of opinions in which an international dispute settlement has come under the scrutiny of the Court of Justice. In the past, the ECJ had dealt with this matter in Opinion 1/91, Opinion 1/09 and Opinion 2/13. In all previous cases the ECJ had concluded that the international court to which the EU had subscribed was incompatible with EU law. Even though the Court of Justice had put forward a number of bases on which to ground the said incompatibility (especially in Opinion 2/13), the principle of autonomy has played a decisive role in all prior decisions. Yet, its precise contours and main features remained unclear. This article attempts to shed light on the nebulous concept of autonomy and on how it can influence the participation of the EU in international dispute settlements.