page_title: European Communities Act 1972 (UK)
section_title: The Act
hierarchical_section_title: European Communities Act 1972 (UK) / The Act
caption_attribution_description: English: Edward Heath
context_page_description: The European Communities Act 1972, also known as the ECA 1972, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which made legal provision for the accession of the United Kingdom to the three European Communities, namely the EEC, Euratom, and the ECSC and for the incorporation of Community Law and its acquis communautaire, its Treaties, Regulations and Directives, together with judgments of the European Court of Justice and the Community Customs Union along with the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy into the domestic law of the United Kingdom.
  The Treaty of Accession was signed by the Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath and the President of the European Commission Franco Maria Malfatti in Brussels on 22 January 1972; the UK's accession into the Communities was subsequently ratified via the Act to have full legal force from 1 January 1973.
  By the Act, Community Law became binding on all legislation passed by the UK Parliament. Arguably it was the most significant statute to be passed by the Heath government of 1970–1974, the Act was also one of the most significant UK constitutional statutes to ever be passed by the UK Parliament.
context_section_description: The European Communities Act was the instrument whereby the UK Parliament effected the changes required by the Treaty of Accession by which the UK joined the European Union (then known as the European Communities). The Act in its original form had just twelve clauses. Section 2(1) says "the Treaties are without further enactment to be given legal effect" in the UK. It enables, under section 2(2), UK government ministers to make regulations to transpose EU Directives (then Community law) and rulings of the European Court of Justice into UK law.  The Treaty itself says the member states will conform themselves to the European Communities existing and future decisions. The Act and the Treaty of Accession have been interpreted by UK courts as granting EU law primacy over domestic UK legislation.
caption: The Act was the most significant constitutional piece of legislation to be passed by the Heath Government of 1970-74[citation needed]
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