The transposition and implementation of European union directives : a case-study of the Maltese legal order

Abstract

This chapter shows how directives are implemented in the Member States using Malta, the smallest Member State of the EU as a case-study to determine the effectiveness of a directive as the legal instrument. The first part of the chapter tackles the process of harmonisation in the European Union to achieve the interests of the Internal Market further. It then briefly analyses the characteristic of a directive resolving the doctrine of direct effect. It then moves the focus precisely on how the Maltese legal order absorbs directives. The entire process is from the very first stage when the European Commission issues its draft legislative proposal up until the actual adoption of the EU directives is discussed. Here the reference is made to Malta’s established EU and national structures available for its involvement in the EU’s legislative process. A discussion is made about Malta transposition procedures and its performance over the past 15 years and more from its accession to the European Union in 2004.