Slovo of the National School of Judges of Ukraine. №4(53) 2025. P. 72-83

ISSN: 2707-6849       

UDC342.9:341.1/.8

DOI https://doi.org/10.37566/2707-6849-2025-4(53)-6 

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Irina KOROSTASHOVA,

Candidate of Law, Doctor of Philosophy in

Law, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department

of Public Administration and CustomsAdministration,

University of Customsand Finance

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4024-802X

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The concept of the rule of law and the principles stemming from the rule of law in European Union legislation and international law

Abstract 

The article is devoted to the problems of defining the concept and requirements (conceptual components) of the rule of law in international law and EU legislation. The author conducted an analysis of scientific approaches to defining the concept of the rule of law in Ukrainian and European scientific literature, on the basis of which their classification was proposed. It was established that in international practice and the practice of EU institutions, in order to formulation the concept of the rule of law, given of its  complex (stretching) nature, a mixed approach is mostly used, which consists in formulating the basic concept and requirements (conceptual components) of the rule of law.

The activities of the main institutions-actors of standardization of the concept of the rule of law at the international and regional levels were highlighted, and the concept and requirements of the rule of law, as formulated in their official documents, were also examined. The role of the ECHR, the Court of Justice of the EU, the Constitutionals and other courts of the EU member states in interpreting the requirements of the rule of law was emphasized.

In official documents of the EU institutions, the rule of law is recognized as the “central pillar of the future of Europ” which, in trinity with democracy and human rights, ensures the functioning of the Community as of an “area of freedom, security and justice”. The crisis of values, and in particular the crisis of the rule of law, observed in the EU over the past decade and a half, determined the course of the EU institutions towards the formation of a common standard of the rule of law of the EU and the creation of a rule of law mechanism to overcome existential threats to the functioning of the Community.

The genesis of the concept of the rule of law in official documents and EU legislation is investigated, the basic concept and a number of requirements of the rule of law formulated by the EU institutions are analyzed, which may differ at the national level, based on the constitutional traditions of the EU member states. The emphasis is placed on the content of the legislative initiatives of the EU institutions to consolidate the concept of the rule of law, which are focused on promoting and strengthening the rule of law and democracy and protecting human rights at the level of the interconstitutional agreement of the Community member states (“Union Pact on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights”), as well as their significance for promoting the rule of law and developing the legislation of the countries integrating into the Community.

Keywords:rule of law, democracy, human rights, European Union, EU legislation, EU institutions, concept of rule of law, requirements (conceptual components) of the rule of law.

References

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SuggestedCitation:  Korostashova, I. (2025).  The concept of the rule of law and the principles stemming from the rule of law in European Union legislation and international law.  Slovo of the National School of Judges of Ukraine, 4 (53), 72–83. https://doi.org/10.37566/2707-6849-2025-4(53)-6

Date of first submission of the article to the publication: 10.01.2026

Date of acceptance of the article for publication after review: 17.03.2026

Date of publication (publication): 09.04.2026