Dissertation
Single Supervision, Single Judicial Protection?
On 14 December, Jouke Tegelaar defended the thesis 'Single supervision, single judicial protection? Towards effective judicial protection in Single Supervisory Mechanism composite procedures'. The doctoral research was supervised by Matthias Haentjens and Willemien den Ouden.
- Author
- Jouke Tegelaar
- Date
- 14 December 2023
- Links
- Single Supervision, Single Judicial Protection?
Ten years ago, the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) was created. For the first time in history, European banking supervision was centralized. In the SSM, the European Central Bank (ECB) cooperates closely with the National Competent Authorities (NCAs), whose responsibilities include the direct supervision of less significant banks and the preparation of draft decisions. The unprecedented degree of integration between NCAs and the ECB leads to supervision often being a joint exercise. SSM composite procedures are a specific type of such a joint exercise.
Composite procedures culminate in a final ECB or NCA decision, yet are based on input from both. This integrated decision-making forms a paradox with the European system of judicial protection, which to an important extent remains to be organised dualistically. In short, national courts still review only national acts while the EU Courts, in principle, review only EU acts.
This paradox raises concerns regarding effective judicial protection. This dissertation aims to investigate whether the EU principle of effective judicial protection is currently safeguarded within the SSM, particularly where it concerns composite procedures. It examines both the action for annulment and the action for damages, addressing the interplay between the EU and Dutch national legal framework. It is concluded that effective judicial protection is not always achieved. The dissertation therefore proposes several recommendations aimed at enhancing effective judicial protection within SSM composite procedures. These include a full centralisation of judicial review of composite procedures at the EU Courts, jurisdiction of the EU Courts to review national acts and the introduction of a mechanism of joint and several liability within the SSM.