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supranational character. It has its own sources of law, as well as a law-makingprocess. In addition, it has an independent system of legal protection.Sources of EU law and their hierarchyThe term source of law is most often used in a formal sense, i.e. as a formalsource of law. The sources of law are therefore the forms of law in which thelaw is contained and from which it formally originates, where it can be foundand identified as a law established by the state, and thanks to this, itsapplication or fulfilment can be sought (Prus%u00e1k, 2001). In the EU legal system,there are several sources of law and there is a hierarchy among them. Those inthe lower levels of the hierarchy are subject to those at a higher level, i.e.subordinate rules must respect rules at a higher level. Principal sources of EUlaw include: %u25aa primary law,%u25aa general principles established by the Court of Justice of the EuropeanUnion,%u25aa international agreements with non-EU countries or with internationalorganisations,%u25aa secondary law,%u25aa treaties made between Member States,%u25aa decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union.The supreme source of EU law is primary law. It consists of founding treaties,including annexes and protocols, as well as treaties and acts that amend andsupplement the founding treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of theEuropean Union, and accession treaties. Although these treaties were signedby the Member States, they differ from ordinary international treaties. They areconsidered to be the %u201econstitutional charter%u201c of the EU.At the very beginning, three founding treaties were signed, namely:%u25aa The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (signed in1951, entered into force in 1952), which expired in 2002,%u25aa The Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (signed in1957, entered into force in 1958), the name of which was changed in 1993 tothe Treaty Establishing the European Community, and in 2009 it was renamedto the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),%u25aa Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (signed in1957, entered into force in 1958).141 Citizen Commitment