On 25 February 2026, the FGV Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme, in partnership with the FGV Centre for Global Law, was honored to welcome Dr. Jan Freigang, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Rio de Janeiro. The class marked the opening of the third edition of the Rio Course on Regional and International Dispute Settlement (Rio CRIDS).

Dr. Freigang analyzed the role and relationship of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and national constitutional courts, with a focus on the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). The main question of the lecture concerned the control of the delegation of power to Member States and whether the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has overstepped its mandate by applying the absolute supremacy of EU law.

To illustrate the matter, Dr. Freigang examined the conflict between the perspectives of the ECJ and the FCC on the primacy of EU law in light of landmark cases since the 1970s. The FCC had always held a different understanding on the source of the primacy of EU law, but an ultimate confrontation was avoided until 2020, when the FCC, in the PSPP/Weiss case, declared an ECJ ruling ultra vires for the first time. When national courts refuse to apply ECJ findings, the EU legal order might be undermined; on the other hand, there is a risk of the ECJ abusing its power. The conclusion of the lecture was that there will always be residual tension, but that the ECJ and national courts should seek cooperation.

We warmly thank Mr. Consul General for an enriching session on this thought-provoking subject.