The Preliminary Ruling Procedure Under Article 267 TFEU

The Preliminary Ruling Procedure Under Article 267 TFEU

Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU)
 Art 19 TEU.
 Judge from each Member State.
 27.
 Advocates General who give (non-binding) opinions.
 11.
 Sit in Chambers.
 Lower division – General Court.

Judgments of the CJEU
 The judgment is that of the entire Court – i.e. not dissenting opinions.
 Opinion of the Advocate General is only advisory in nature.

Functions of the CJEU – Art 19 TEU
 Art 19(1).
 The Court of Justice ‘shall ensure that in the interpretation and application of
the Treaties the law is observed’.
 Art 19(3).
 The Court of Justice of the EU shall, in accordance with Treaties:
 (a) – rule on actions brought by a Member State, an institution or a
natural or legal person.
 (b) – give preliminary rulings, at the request of courts or tribunals of
the Member States, on the interpretation of Union law or the validity
of acts adopted by the institutions.
 (c) – rule in other cases provided for the Treaties.

Summary of the Jurisdictions of the Court of Justice
 Art 267 TFEU.
 Preliminary rulings.
 Referred by national courts in pending cases.
 Art 263 TFEU.
 Judicial review of EU acts.
 Locus standi restrictions.
 Arts 258/259 TFEU.
 Infringement actions.
 Brought by Commission or (rarely) Member States.

What is the Preliminary Ruling Procedure?
 A process enabling national courts to refer questions of EU law to the CJEU in order
to help them resolve disputes in the national courts.
 IMP – the process starts and ends in the national courts.
 IMP – the CJEU does not decide the merits of the domestic case.
 An innovative and creative aspect of the EU judicial system.
 IMP – although the Treaty of Nice (and also the Treaty of Lisbon) provided for the
transfer of some Article 267 TFEU jurisdiction over preliminary rulings to the General

, Court (Article 256(3) TFEU) in specific area laid down by the Statute of the Court of
Justice, this has yet to be implemented.

The Jurisdiction of the CJEU – EU Law
 Article 267 TFEU – The Court of Justice of the EU 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.

The Jurisdiction of the CJEU – National Courts
 Article 267 TFEU – covers both lower and higher courts.
 Where such a question is raised before any court or tribunal of a Member
State, that court or tribunal may, if it considers that a decision on the
question is necessary to enable it to give judgment, request the Court to give
a ruling thereon.
 Where any such question is raised in a case pending before a court or
tribunal of a Member State against whose decisions there is no judicial
remedy under the national law, that court of tribunal shall bring the matter
before the Court.
 If such a question is raised in a case pending before a court or tribunal of a
Member State with regard to a person in custody, the Court of Justice of the
EU shall act with the minimum of delay’.

The Purpose of the Preliminary Ruling Procedure
 IMP – it is not an appeal process and the individual litigant is not involved in the
decision to refer.
 Secures uniformity of interpretation across the EU (and thus effectiveness of EU law).
 Allows (indirect) access by individuals to Court of Justice.
 However – key route for developing new EU principles and multilateral effects.
 Van Gend En Loos.
 Francovich.
 Von Colson.
 Mangold.
 Kucukdeveci.
 Low levels of actual judicial disobedience.
 Art 267 TFEU.
 ‘Jewel in the Crown’ of the Court’s jurisdiction.
 Has been of seminal importance to the development of EU law.




The Effects of a Preliminary Ruling
 Initially, relationship between national courts and the Court was horizontal and
bilateral.