Anna Wallerman

Project summary

Does the way you ask shape the answer? The referring court’s influence on preliminary rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union

A national court may request a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in a case in which EU law applies. The CJEU then issues a judgment on how EU law is to be interpreted, both in the case at hand and in future cases.

 

Preliminary rulings play an important role in the development of EU law. However, it is the national courts that decide whether a case should be referred to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling, formulate the questions that the CJEU is asked to answer, and provide the context in which those questions arise. They may also express their own views on how the questions should be answered. The preliminary ruling procedure thus provides national courts with an opportunity to engage in direct dialogue with the CJEU.

 

The project will investigate whether, and how, referring courts can influence the development of EU law through their decision to request a preliminary ruling and through the way in which they frame their submissions to the CJEU. The analysis will examine both whether these courts seek to influence the CJEU and whether the CJEU is in fact influenced by the arguments and formulations used by the referring court.

 

The findings of the project will deepen our understanding of the EU judicial system, particularly the role and significance of national courts. They may also have implications for how national courts, and the parties appearing before them, approach such proceedings in the future.