Danish court set to rule on Maastricht

Date: 02/04/1998

Ole Ryborg
AFTER more than a year of legal wrangling, judgement day has finally arrived for Denmark's ratification of the Maastricht Treaty.

The country's supreme court will announce its verdict on whether or not approval of the treaty was constitutional, next Monday (6 April). A negative judgement would have dramatic consequences for the EU. But few expect the supreme court to rule in favour of the complainants, who argue that ratification was illegal because the treaty did not set a clear limit on the transfer of sovereignty to the EU, as required by the Danish constitution.

Speculation has instead focused on whether the court will draw a line in the sand on how far Copenhagen will be able to go in further surrendering national sovereignty.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs have spent much of their time in court arguing against the 'hidden' transfer of sovereignty which has taken place since Denmark joined the European Community in 1973.

They argue that the excessive use of Article 235 of the Treaty of Rome to introduce new EU policies on the environment, health, culture and trade sanctions, areas not covered by specific treaty clauses, made the extent of power taken away from national government through the EC and Maastricht treaties unclear.

Article 20 of the Danish constitution states that any transfer of sovereignty from Denmark to international bodies must be clearly defined.

Legal experts believe the supreme court judges may seize the opportunity provided by the case to give a clearer interpretation of Article 20.

With last month's general election and next week's supreme court judgement out of the way, campaigning will begin in earnest for Denmark's Amsterdam Treaty referendum on 28 May. After the election, the government declared that securing a 'yes' vote in the referendum would be its top priority.