Die Unanwendbarkeit richtlinienwidriger deutscher Arbeitsgesetze

The CJEU repeatedly causes a stir with judgements which can be described as either unexpected or unusual. This also applies to the cases "Mangold" and "Kücükdeveci". As a result of these judgements, two German labour laws, which were not in conformity with a directive, could no longer be applied in litigations between private parties. The reason for this was the supremacy of an unwritten fundamental right or general principle of EU law and not the "direct effect" of a directive. This paper answers the question to what extent the findings of the CJEU in relation to the supremacy of unwritten fundamental rights are also applicable to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.