Editing MCP/Guidelines/EU (section)

= Jurisdiction: European law =

Supplements core safety guidelines with rules specific to European law (<code>tags={"jurisdiction": "eu"}</code>).

⚠️ '''Current limitation''': only <code>language="fr"</code> ingested. <code>language="en"</code> → 0 results. Always pass <code>language="fr"</code> for EU searches. Multi-language planned (F-5).

<code>tags["jurisdiction"]</code> is REQUIRED on every search and browse_structure call. Use <code>"eu"</code> for European law only, <code>"eu|fr"</code> for combined (recommended for EU member state queries), or <code>"*"</code> for all jurisdictions.

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== Which tool for which question ==

* '''EU regulations & directives''': search(tags={"jurisdiction": "eu", "kind": "legislation", "nature": "REGLEMENT"}) or <code>"nature": "DIRECTIVE"</code>
* '''CJEU case law''': search(tags={"jurisdiction": "eu", "kind": "decision", "court": "cjeu"}) for Court of Justice; <code>"court": "general_court"</code> for General Court
* '''ECHR case law''': search(tags={"jurisdiction": "eu", "kind": "decision", "court": "echr"})
* '''Direct CELEX lookup''': get_document("32016R0679") — resolves to <code>EU.EURLEXTEXT32016R0679</code>
* '''Transposition into FR''': search(query="transposition directive 2016/680", tags={"jurisdiction": "fr", "kind": "legislation"}) or check edges on the directive via get_document
* '''AG opinions''': search(tags={"jurisdiction": "eu", "kind": "decision", "type": "advisory_opinion"}) ⚠️ not yet ingested — returns 0 results currently.

When in doubt: <code>"jurisdiction": "eu|fr"</code> to combine FR and EU sources.

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== Search — EU legal terminology ==

* "responsabilité" / "liability" / "responsibility" — texts may be in multiple languages
* "données personnelles" / "personal data" / "personenbezogene Daten"
* "concurrence" / "competition" / "antitrust"
* "marché intérieur" / "internal market" / "single market"
* Multi-word concepts MUST use quotes: <code>"libre circulation des travailleurs"</code>, <code>"abus de position dominante"</code>

EU texts exist in 24 official languages. The corpus may contain multiple language versions of the same text — they are equivalent in legal value (TFEU art. 55).

'''Multilingual ingestion''': each language version is a separate row with a <code>:lang</code> suffix in the
document ID (e.g. <code>EU.EURLEXTEXT32016R0679:fr</code> and <code>EU.EURLEXTEXT32016R0679:en</code> for the French
and English versions of the GDPR). The cross-language identifier <code>tags.text_id</code> is unsuffixed
(<code>EU.EURLEXTEXT32016R0679</code>), so resolver lookups by <code>text_id</code> find all language versions; the
<code>language</code> parameter you pass to the tools narrows results to the user's language. Documents
ingested in a fallback language (e.g. EN-only when no FR is available) carry
<code>tags.translation_pending="fr"</code> and may receive a machine translation later.

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== Courts ==

=== court_level mapping (T1 tag) ===

* <code>supranational</code> — cjeu (Court of Justice), echr
* <code>first_instance</code> — general_court (General Court), civil_service_tribunal (dissolved 2016)

=== CJEU (Court of Justice of the EU) ===

* '''Court of Justice''' ("Cour de justice"): highest EU court, preliminary rulings, appeals
* '''General Court''' ("Tribunal"): direct actions, competition, state aid, trademarks

Formation solemnity (ascending): single_judge < reduced_bench (3 judges) < standard_bench (5 judges) < grand_bench (15 judges) < full_court (all judges).

Publication grades: <code>ecr_grand_chamber</code> (Court Reports, Grand Chamber, highest_importance) > <code>ecr_chamber</code> (Court Reports, Chamber, high_importance) > <code>oj_only</code> (OJ series C only, low_importance) > <code>unpublished</code> (minimal_importance).

Procedure types: preliminary ruling ("renvoi préjudiciel", art. 267 TFEU), annulment (art. 263 TFEU), infringement (art. 258-260 TFEU), opinion (art. 218 TFEU).

=== ECHR (European Court of Human Rights) ===

* Covers 46 Council of Europe member states
* Application numbers: 5+ digits / 2 digits (e.g., 36022/97)

Importance grades:
* official_grade 1 = Key case (Reports of Judgments and Decisions) — highest_importance
* official_grade 2 = High importance — high_importance
* official_grade 3 = Medium importance — medium_importance
* official_grade 4 = Low importance — low_importance

Formations: "Grande chambre" (grand_bench) > Section/Chamber (standard_bench) > "Comité" (reduced_bench) > Single Judge (single_judge).

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== Legislation ==

=== Hierarchy ===

Treaties (TEU, TFEU, Charter of Fundamental Rights) > Regulations (directly applicable) > Directives (require national transposition) > Decisions.

=== Key distinctions ===

* '''Regulation''' ("règlement"): directly applicable in all member states. No transposition. Direct effect.
* '''Directive''': binds member states as to the result. Requires national transposition within deadline. After deadline → vertical direct effect (vs State) but NOT horizontal (between private parties).
* '''Decision''': binding on its addressees only.
* '''CELEX number''': official identifier, format <code>3{year}{type}{number}</code> (e.g., 32016R0679 = Regulation 2016/679 = GDPR).

=== Enforcement status ===

Tag: <code>enforcement_status</code> (canonical international values, see TAG-CONVENTIONS.md)
EU EUR-Lex emits only:
* <code>in_force</code> = in force
* <code>repealed</code> = repealed → NEVER cite as current

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== Charter of Fundamental Rights ==

Treaty-level value since Lisbon (2009). Binds EU institutions + member states implementing EU law.

Key articles:
* Art. 7 — private and family life
* Art. 8 — protection of personal data
* Art. 21 — non-discrimination
* Art. 47 — right to effective remedy and fair trial

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== Direct effect and primacy ==

* Regulations: full direct effect (vertical + horizontal).
* Directives: vertical direct effect (vs State) after transposition deadline. NOT horizontal (between private parties).
* EU primacy over all national law (Costa v ENEL, 1964).
* France: "contrôle de conventionnalité" by ordinary courts (art. 55 Constitution). Constitutional Council does conventionality control via QPC since 2010.

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== ECHR margin of appreciation ==

ECHR grants states a "margin of appreciation" on sensitive topics (morals, religion, national security, family policy). Same legal question → different outcomes in different national contexts.

⚠️ A ruling against Italy ≠ automatically applies to France. Different national context, different margin.
Always check for rulings against the specific state involved (search tags={"jurisdiction": "eu", "source": "echr", "respondent_state": "FRA"} — values are 3-letter ISO country codes).

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== Transposition ==

Finding the FR transposition of an EU directive:
# get_document() the directive, check <code>edges</code> for explicit transposition links
# search(query="transposition directive YYYY/NN", tags={"jurisdiction": "fr", "kind": "legislation"})
# Look for the FR "loi de transposition" or "ordonnance de transposition"

⚠️ EUR-Lex national transposition measures may be incomplete or outdated — verify in FR sources.

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== CJEU preliminary rulings (art. 267 TFEU) ==

Mechanism: a national court asks the CJEU to interpret EU law. The CJEU answers; the national court applies the answer to the case.

⚠️ A preliminary ruling INTERPRETS EU law. It does NOT decide the underlying national case. The national court applies the interpretation to the facts. Don't confuse the preliminary ruling answer with a decision on the merits.

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== Advocate General opinions ==

Separate documents (kind=decision, type=advisory_opinion). Precede the judgment, more detailed reasoning. Not binding on the CJEU but highly persuasive — often followed. Linked via edges when available.

⚠️ Not yet ingested. The search above returns 0 results currently.

When citing a CJEU judgment, also check whether an AG opinion exists — it provides essential context.

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== Decision analysis — EU courts ==

Supplements core "Structured decision analysis" (§5).

'''CJEU — preliminary rulings (art. 267 TFEU)''':
* Procedure = referring court + national dispute. CJEU answers question, does NOT decide national case.
* Questions referred: list as formulated. CJEU may reformulate or merge.
* AG opinion (if exists): summarize BEFORE court's reasoning. Note follow/departure — departure = deliberate choice, always significant.
* Reasoning: cite by §number (e.g. "§42-48"). Key paragraphs = principle before application.

'''CJEU — direct actions''':
* Contested act (annulment) or member state obligation (infringement).
* Pleas replace "Claims" — each plea = distinct argument, analyze separately.

'''ECHR''':
* Claims → alleged violations by Convention article (e.g. "Art. 8", "Art. 6§1").
* Vote split: note unanimous/majority. Dissenting opinions published, often significant.
* Margin of appreciation: wide = other states may differ. Narrow = more universal.
* Formally binding on respondent state only (Art. 46 ECHR). But interpretive authority (res interpretata) persuasive across all contracting states — do not dismiss as irrelevant.

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== Practical reflexes ==

* '''Harmonized areas''' (data protection, competition, consumer, free movement): always check both FR and EU sources. Use <code>"jurisdiction": "eu|fr"</code>.
* '''Direct applicability''': regulations apply without national act. Directives need transposition.
* '''Time limits for direct actions''': annulment 2 months (art. 263(6) TFEU). Infringement: no time limit but Commission discretion.
* '''Multiple language versions''': in case of divergence, all versions equally authentic. CJEU resolves divergences by purposive interpretation.
* '''Brexit''': UK no longer member state since 2020-01-31. EU law no longer applicable. Pre-Brexit case law involving UK still relevant for general EU law principles.

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== Danger — European emergency resources ==

When danger detected (see core guidelines §6):

<blockquote>
* European emergency: 112 (works in all EU member states)
* ECHR application: hudoc.echr.coe.int
* EU complaint to Commission: ec.europa.eu/info/about-european-commission/contact/problems-and-complaints_en
* Cross-border legal aid: e-justice.europa.eu
</blockquote>

Always recommend the user contact a lawyer in the relevant member state for national law issues.

[[Category:MCP]]