MOSCOW, December 18 (RAPSI) - Speaking at a conference in Monaco, UK Supreme Court Justice Lord Mance spoke about the complex interplay between the legal cultures of member states that the European Union.

“No man is an island,” Mance asserted, as he reflected on the fact that until very recently, communities were governed by culturally specific and separate legal codes.

“Today’s globalized world is different,” he said, explaining, “We have developed over-arching supranational principles and courts, which interact with domestic tribunals… international law in a more general sense has also come to be important in the determination of all sorts of domestic issues.”

Lord Mance described the emergence of the European Community (which is now the European Union) as having aimed to “merge German identity within a larger body, which would prevent any recurrence of the murderous aggression which devastated Europe prior to 1945.” At this point, he explained, the broader aim has arisen of preserving Europe’s significance in the face of a changing world.

Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states that the union is: “founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.” According to the treaty, such values are common to the member states in a society that runs on pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, solidarity, and gender equality.

Article 67 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) states that the union shall: “constitute an area of freedom, security and justice with respect for fundamental rights and the different legal systems and traditions of the Member States.”

Lord Mance points to both of these articles in noting the tensions that exist between the union and its nations, but cited Article 5 of the TEU in asserting that the union should act only when a given objective cannot be achieved by the member states.

He noted that the union has brought with it many benefits. For one thing, the European Convention of Human Rights (Convention) has been an inspiration for the improved standards of treatment of Europeans across the continent, he explained.

Furthermore, in the past five decades – Europe has basically enjoyed peace, intergovernmental and institutional collaboration, and has inspired and assisted emerging democracies, he said.

Later in the speech he warned, however, he urged the imperative of acting with care in fostering mutual trust between the member states: “Over-ambitious steam-rolling of centralising projects in order to promote the European project can achieve precisely the opposite result.”

Speaking about the European Courts of Human Rights (Strasbourg) and Justice (Luxembourg), he explained: “There is already healthy informal dialogue between national jurisdictions and our supra-national courts. In the case of the Strasbourg court, this can be seen in the judgments. In the case of the Luxembourg court it is no less real, but less apparent. That is because the Court of Justice does not in its committee style approach overtly engage with national jurisprudence… That is a pity. Good fences build good neighbours, but so does good open conversation over the fences.”