Lecture 20 Preliminary Reference

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20.1 An overview of Article 267

20.2 Detailed Examination

20.3 Practical Operation and Functions

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 Introduction

If EU law has supremacy over conflicting national law and if it

has direct effect so that it can be used in national courts, do
these national courts have the authority to decide definitively
what these provisions of EU law mean?
If the final say on what EU law meant rested in the
hands of the different national legal systems, this
might give rise to diverse and conflicting
interpretations of EU law

This would mean that the policies and objectives

pursued by the EU could be undermined as a
common position on the meaning of EU law
could not be adhered to

If a common position could not be adhered to, this

would undermine the effectiveness of EU law in
the pursuit of its objectives
How does the EU legal order ensure that the provisions of EU
law are interpreted in a uniform way so as to ensure
effectiveness?

The primary institution responsible for ensuring the uniform

interpretation of EU law is the CJEU

The key procedure it uses to this effect is the Preliminary

Reference procedure under Article 267
Put simply, Article
267 enables and,
The case is then
in certain cases,
returned to the
requires a
national court
national court to The CJEU then
which proceeds
refer a question provides a
to apply the law
concerning the preliminary
to the facts of the
validity or ruling on the
case and
interpretation of matter in question
determine the
EU law to the
appropriate
Court of Justice
remedies
of the European
Union
 An overview of Article 267
20.1
1.1 Text of Article 267

The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have

jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings concerning: (a) the
interpretation of the Treaties; (b) the validity and interpretation
of acts of the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the
Union
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The tension between uniformity
and decentralization means that
part of the function of the
preliminary reference procedure
is to provide a way of
implementing the ideal of
uniformity in the context of a
decentralized administrative
system
 Detailed Examination
20.2

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20.3 Practical Operation and
Functions
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