Abstract: The concept of public policy lies at the heart of national private (procedural) law. In the Community law, the European courts has dealt with public policy in a number of cases, most of which illustrate the problem of enforcement of EC law through national procedural rules and mechanisms. This article analyses the most important case law of the ECJ dealing with this issue, in particular hallmark cases like Van Schijndel and Eco Swiss). The authors argue that public policy as a complex phenomenon needs careful consideration when used in the context of EC law. The contribution elaborates on the foundations of the Community public policy as well as criteria for defining certain rules as rules of public policy suggesting that the fundamentality of the rule in question for Community legal order should be decisive as criterion.
European Review of Private Law