2021

Amedeo ARENA, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Faculty of Law, “Federico II” University, Naples, Italy, From an electricity bill to the primacy of European law: how the Costa v. Enel doctrine came to be

DOI:https://www.doi.org/10.31178/AUBD.2021.02

Abstract: Although Costa v. ENEL is a classic case cited in most explanations of the supremacy of European Union law, the story behind that case remains relatively unknown. What prompted Flaminio Costa to sue his electricity provider over a bill of just 1,925 Italian lire (approximately 22 euros in 2020)? Why did the Milan court with jurisdiction over small claims decide to involve both the Italian Constitutional Court and the European Court of Justice in a “minor” case? Why did the two courts reach such different decisions? How did the case before the national court conclude once it was remanded from Luxembourg? Drawing on previously unpublished documents and interviews with some of the parties involved, this article aims to shed light on certain lesser-known aspects of the Costa v. ENEL case, viewed through the lens of the nationalization of Italy’s electricity system at the height of the Cold War, and to assess the contribution of this case and its architect, Gian Galeazzo Stendardi, to the development of the doctrine of the supremacy of European Union law.

Keywords: History of European Union Law; supremacy; preliminary ruling; Community law; judicial empowerment; constitutional review.