Article: Legal Certainty in Tax and Customs Judgments of the Court of Justice

Abstract

Legal certainty is one of the general principles of European Union law. It is common to the Member States’ constitutional orders. It is of utmost importance in the spheres of tax and customs law where the application of legal rules entails financial consequences. The understanding and significance of this principle have been developed since the early case-law of the Court of Justice. Delineating its precise scope of application reveals certain inconsistencies that are worthy of analysis. general principles, legal certainty, legitimate expectations, directive, linguistic interpretation, multilingualism, vacation legis, retroactivity, abuse of law, fraud