Účinky preambúl medzinárodných zmlúv v úniovom práve

Modern preambles to international treaties are often composed of recitals that transcend their historically significant ceremonial purpose. Preambles to international treaties are often met with a presumption of non-binding legal effect. The European Union is a key actor of the international community. The Union per se concludes international treaties which become part of the EU acquis. The aim of the present article is to identify the effects of preambles of international treaties within the EU law, which is preceded by their identification in public international law in general. We draw on the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which mentions the preamble in the context of the interpretation of international treaties, as the initial formal source for the regulation of the area under analysis. Drawing a general conclusion on the effects of preambles of international treaties from a public international law perspective is the starting point for the analysis of the effects in the Union law. The article focuses not only on the assessment of the theoretical level, but also on the possible divergence from the drawn conclusions when materialized in practice.