Explicit legislative characterisation of overriding mandatory provisions in EU Directives: Seeking for but struggling to achieve legal certainty

Traditionally, the judiciary has been tasked with characterising a provision in EU secondary law as an overriding mandatory (“OMP”) sense of Art 9(1) Rome I Regulation. This paradigm however shifted recently legislator started setting out such OMP characterisation explicitly, which this paper addresses regard to Directives. The analysis two Directives on unfair trading practices food supply chain and resolution financial institutions reveals that their explicit legislative characterisations OMPs can benefit legal certainty if properly drafted by correctly transposed into national Member States. These requirements have not yet fully met there are inconsistencies confusion only domestically provisions, need be resolved. More generally, elucidates tensions competence between legislators courts both levels due characterisation. It also considers side effects pre-existing future provisions without Finally, it acknowledges extraterritorial effect is intensified therefore requires seek international alignment.