ABSTRACT
The explanations of the Charter emphasise that the ‘inclusion of this precedent in the Charter has not been intended to change the system of judicial review laid down by the Treaties’. As regards the involvement of national courts, the principle of effective legal protection is mixed up partially with the previously established principle of effectiveness derived from the effects of Union law in the Member States. The national courts are obliged to interpret the national procedural law as favourably as possible as regards access to justice in Union law matters. Strict and far-reaching requirements for the interpretation of the national procedural law concerning the access to the national courts have been established by the European court of justice (ECJ) in the context of environmental law in particular. The principle of effective legal protection includes the ‘right to fair legal process within a reasonable period’. The basic standards of the court procedure are complemented by additional procedural rights.
