The contribution of the general principles of law to the development of the European Union is spectacular. Certainly first and foremost, both publicly and in professional literature, the development of basic EU citizen rights from the general principles of law can be found. The transfer of basic rights into a written charter of fundamental rights and their forthcoming adoption in the European Union Constitution give rise to the contemplation of the future role of general principles of law. One could also ask the question of whether these legal sources will eventually 'be exhausted'. It is for this very reason that the author goes on to more closely examine the role of the general principles of law in the further development of EU rights.