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7. Conclusions
principle of effectiveness at the national level, as part of said principles.59 In this context, the interrelation between legal norms and facts becomes clear.
7. Conclusions
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We started this exercise on the principle of effectiveness with some dictionary definitions of ‘effectiveness’. We then found that effectiveness is subject to research in nonlegal disciplines. In social science, ‘effectiveness’ refers to the ways of using methods of empirical investigation to develop knowledge about human social activity. In physics, it is the framework intended to explain certain observed effects. In medicine, it is used for a drug that produces a certain effect and, in economics, it means the highest quality at the least possible cost, which is more the definition of efficiency.
It must be noted that the principle of effectiveness is intertwined with the other principles of good governance, which are the tools used to reach the goal that is good governance. However, this goal will not be reached if the principles are not implemented effectively, and therefore we encounter overlaps between the principle of effectiveness and other principles of good governance. It is necessary to stress that principles of good governance do overlap and work together, and therefore effectiveness should not be viewed as a completely separate principle.
In a legal context, two aspects of effectiveness are relevant: that effectiveness is a principle of good governance and that effectiveness has procedural and substantive aspects. In international law, the principle of effectiveness has been developed along the following lines: effectiveness as actual observance, effectiveness as a rule for treaty interpretation, and effectiveness as a strong factual effect on a legal norm.
Effectiveness in EU law means: the effective implementation of EU rules, substantively and procedurally; effectiveness as a principle of EU law, developed by the ECJ; and equivalence and effectiveness in the context of effective judicial review.
Effectiveness in national administrative law is about internationalization and the interdisciplinary approach of administrative law, effective implementation and execution at the national level, and effectiveness in the sense of the interrelation between legal norms and facts.
59 Addink 2005a, 21–48.
