Legal Certainty and Contract Arrangements

Legal certainty is a fundamental principle which contributes in the rule of law. According to some authors this principle is an “imperative necessity for the European Union”. Indeed the European case-law recognized the principle of legal certainty. One the one hand, through the European Court of Justice in 1962 in the Bosch judgment. As well, the principle of legitimate expectations – which is part of the legal certainty – was first recognized in 1957 in the Algera judgment, and then in the Dürbeck judgment in 1987 as a “fundamental principle of the Community”. One the other hand, the European Court of Human Rights recognized the principle of legal certainty as “inherent in the right of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights” in its decision Marckx in 1979. Thus, the legal certainty is an important principle in the EU. Now let's see what IS the legal certainty.