EU rule of law mechanisms in context: A comparative analysis of intra-EU and accession standards for national judiciaries

In the name of the rule of law, the EU emerged as a powerful standard setter for the organization of national judiciaries. Whilst such efforts firstly targeted accession countries, they now also internally affect Member States. Based on a comparison of the scope, substance, enforcement method and nature of such EU standards in the accession versus intra-EU dimension, this article investigates whether a coherent overarching normative framework can be identified. On the one hand, it is argued that the substance of such standards in both dimensions must align. On the other hand, different enforcement methods adapted to the two contexts seem to be justified. Acknowledging the Member States’ and candidate States’ fundamentally different legal statuses, considering the distinct nature of the standards as well as the differing roles of the EU institutions involved in the accession versus the intra-EU context, this article calls for a context-sensitive EU approach in promoting the rule of law.