Andean Community Law

The academic world of the Member States of the Andean Community of Nations agrees on the scope of Andean Community law, stating that “such law is characterised by being autonomous, having a coercive effect, being integrated into the national legal systems, where its effects are direct, prevailing over the law of the Member States, representing a single law for the entire community, and being of uniform application”.

In the same way, it can be affirmed that one of its main tools, i.e., the preliminary ruling interpretation, has its origin in the European Community, within the scope of its constitutive rules, given that the essential function of the Court of Justice of the European Union is to “guarantee respect for the law in the interpretation and application of the Community treaty” and therefore, the Community judges must share the exercise of the jurisdictional function with the jurisdictional bodies of the member countries that are called upon to apply the Community rules in the first instance, becoming the ordinary judges of Community law.

Foreign companies must be aware of the consequences of the application of the law in question in their operations within the Andean Community area.