The Political Question Doctrine as Applied to Common Foreign and Security Policy

Recent case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has increased the uncertainty with regard to its jurisdiction on provisions and acts of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) in the Treaty on the European Union (TEU). While Article 24 TEU seems to exclude judicial control over CFSP acts which are not restrictive measures, the court has recently proved itself willing to adjudicate on them. This article proposes the introduction of a Political Question Doctrine, for the Court to clearly identify on what acts it does not have jurisdiction. After explaining the reasons for the introduction of the doctrine, the article proposes a threefold test, derived from the general principles of EU law and from US scholarship and jurisprudence, where the Political Question Doctrine has been object of much analysis and debate.