Principle of protection of legitimate expectations

In the context of breach of legitimate expectation, resulting from the annulment of an unlawful administrative act, the Court of Cassation settles that, as legitimate expectation is an autonomous situation protected in itself and not in its connection with the public interest, the jurisdiction of the administrative judge exists only when the cause of action concerns the methods of exercising administrative power.

The withdrawal of unlawful acts of public administrations aids the judicial function to guarantee effet utile. It follows the functionalization of procedural autonomy to the principle of effectiveness of EU rules. This, however, cannot go against the Community principle of legal certainty and the protection of legitimate expectations. Hence, the conflict between certainty and justice must be resolved through a synthesis of the opposing interests by the application of the principle of proportionality which conforms to the principle of legality.