Rule of Law, mutual recognition and mutual trust: comparing the EU and the US experience

The so-called Rule of Law crisis in Central and Eastern European countries has affected the EU’s Area of Freedom, security and justice of the EU, which is based on the principles of mutual trust and mutual recognition. These principles require a homogeneous level of protection of rights and the judiciary of EU Member States to be independent. Mutual trust and mutual recognition are classic principles of horizontal federalism. The U.S. also has similar clauses in its Constitution such as the Extradition Clause and the Full Faith and Credit Clause. The U.S. experience shows that the presence of these provisions in the Constitution did not immediately lead to the affirmation of the interest of unity and it took time before the States effectively incorporated the rights enshrined at the federal level. Only when this occurred, mutual recognition was effectively implemented.