Foreign Law as Applied by Administrative Authorities: Grenznormen Revisited

• Main Author: Jakub Handrlica
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law 2018-01-01
• Series: Zbornik Pravnog Fakulteta u Zagrebu
• Online Access: http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/295288

It is a matter of fact that conflict-of-law rules frequently lead to the application of foreign law by the courts in cases of private law. Consequently, the legal science has quite frequently had to deal with this issue. On the contrary, the problem of the application of foreign law by administrative authorities has not been equally discussed. It was German academician Karl Neumeyer who introduced a system of delimiting rules (“Grenznormen”), requiring the application of foreign administrative law in the decision-making of administrative authorities. This article deals with the existence and implications of some of these provisions, as provided in various sources of EU legislation. Further, the article deals with the question concerning to which extent the principles of application of foreign law by the courts also apply to the application of foreign administrative law by the administrative authorities within the EU.