Preliminary Rulings Flashcards
The court of justice of the European Union shall have jurisdiction to give preliminary ruling concerning;
The interpretation of treaties
& the validity & interpretation of acts of the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the union.
What are the essential characteristics of a court/tribe l?
It must be established by law Must be permanent Must have binding jurisdiction Must be procedure inter partes Must be applied rule of law Independent
What was held in Dorch 1993?
Held any permanent body set up in accordance with law which exercises compulsory & independent judicial function & has the power to apply legal rules and settle cases falling within the jurisdiction they are legally given, is a court or tribunal not all factors have to be satisfied.
Vassen
The Dutch Social Secruity Tribunal was not regarded a court under Dutch law, however it was considered to be a court or tribunal by the EU court as their members were appointed and approved by ministers and the tribunal was bound to apply law.
Nordsee
A reference from privately appointed arbitration body refused. It was held arbitrators could not be a court or tribunal as their jurisdiction was invoked because of a private contract. This meant there was not a close link to the nation system of legal remedies and there was no public authority involved.
Corbiau
The reference made by Office for Director of Taxiation was refused. As a body acting in both administrative & judicial capacity, court held it wasn’t independent enough to be a court or tribunal. It was irrelevant that it was a court under national law.
What was held in R v International Stock Exchange ex parte Else [1993]?
The appropriate course is to ordinarily refer the issue to the CoJ, unless the national court can with complete confidence resolve the issues itself. If it has any fount it should ordinarily refer.
