European court 'steamrolling' Britain, warns leading judge Lord Mance's comments follow a ruling last month from Mr Justice Mostyn, a High Court judge, that suggested many of the rights in the charter have taken effect in the UK despite the opt-outs. In a speech to a legal conference in Monaco this week, Lord Mance noted that the British Parliament has effectively voted to allow some EU laws to take force in the UK. However, he raised concerns about the way in which EU legal authorities use the authority they have been given in that process. Instead of discussing the implementation of EU rules with British judges, the ECJ attempts to impose its will without discussion, he suggested. The EU court's attempts to promote its view of the charter and its impact could hamper EU relations. Lord Mance said: "Ultimately, the European project must rest on mutual trust, goodwill and co-operation. Mutual trust is an article of faith of the European Union. But it requires real sensitivity to build and maintain. Over-ambitious steam-rolling of centralising projects in order to promote the European project can achieve precisely the opposite result. The legal issues Lord Mance raised have yet to be tested in a British case. However, the judge cited a case this year involving Germany, where the ECJ sought to make a ruling on the way the German government applies VAT. Germany's highest court and politicians have rejected the ECJ ruling, and Lord Mance said the case showed the "potential for direct conflict between the national constitutional and European legal orders." The court in Luxembourg does not "overtly engage" with national legal systems, he said. That is a pity. Good fences build good neighbours, but so does good open conversation over the fences. EU members including Britain and Poland are attempting to negotiate explicit legal limits on the way the ECJ applies the charter. Lord Mance also noted the European Commission has suggested that the ECJ could apply the charter to cases involving domestic laws unrelated to the EU. The EU charter is separate from the European Convention on Human Rights, which is overseen by a court in Strasbourg and has no connection to the EU.