This course is available for Erasmus students.

Preliminary ruling procedure is the main tool in ensuring the uniformity in application of EU Law in the Member States. Most of the landmark judgments by the ECJ (e.g. Van Gend en Loos, Costa v. ENEL and Simmenthal) were handed after a national court requested the ECJ to give a judgment on the interpretation of EU Law in a preliminary ruling.  

The purpose of this course is:

1. to illustrate the application of the preliminary ruling procedure before the ECJ and in national courts,
2. to identify some general problems of application of this procedure at the national level,
3. to find and suggest possible solutions how to improve the functioning of the preliminary ruling procedure before national courts and
4. to find the best solution how to implement the preliminary ruling procedure in Croatia as future member state.

List of topics to be covered in class (teaching units):

• The mechanism of preliminary ruling procedure and role of national courts in its functioning  (4 hours)
• Is it necessary to made any special national legislation implementing preliminary ruling procedure ( 2 hours)
• Bodies (court or tribunal) entitled to refer the preliminary question to the ECJ ( 2 hours)
• Which courts can be considered as courts of last instance? (2 hours)
• What happens if they breach a duty to refer? What are the means of control over application of preliminary ruling procedure and what are the remedies for the breach of duty to refer? (3 hours)
• Acte clair doctrine (1 hour)
• When to refer the preliminary question (2 hours)
• Form and content of decision to refer (1 hour)
• Possibility of appeal against an order to refer (2 hour)
• How to explain the difference in the number of references from different member states (2 hours)
• The role of the parties and its representatives before national courts ( 1 hours)
• Comparative study of several member's states legal system regarding preliminary ruling procedure (Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia) ( 5 hours)
• Future of preliminary ruling procedure - possible solutions how to improve its functioning ( 2hours)

Preliminary ruling procedure in Croatia - de lege ferenda (3 hours)