Adrián Tokár

Today the acquis communautaire is almost unambiguously considered to be a specific legal system, independent from the legal systems of Member States. In line with its independence the acquis communautaire uses its own principles, which indeed often correspond with the principles of legal systems of Member States but gain particular importance within the context of the European Union. This article provides a fundamental overview of the status and the binding force of these principles and makes the reader familiar with basic information on the rules and principles of subsidiarity, proportionality, loyalty, peace (legal certainty) and the protection of legitimate expectations and the prohibition of discrimination.