preliminary ruling

preliminary ruling
a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Communities in European law. The jurisdiction to make such a ruling arises in cases that have not come before the court itself but have arisen in the court of proceedings in national courts. Because Community law is law in the member states, it is necessary that it is not distorted across the Community by uneven interpretation by national courts. A study of the earlier judgments of national courts confirms the tendency of the national courts to take a local view of Community law. Under Article 177, a national tribunal may request a ruling each and any time it considers that it requires an answer to the interpretation of Community law. If there is no appeal the court must request a ruling. The applicability and interpretation of the conditions for a reference have now been settled in the UK: see Bulmer v . Bollinger [1974] 1 Ch. 401; Commissioners of Customs and Excise v . Samex [1983] 1 All ER 1042. The UK courts recognise the existence of the doctrine of acte claire, which is the doctrine that allows a national court to apply its own interpretation of Community law rather than request a preliminary ruling. The Court of Justice has made it plain that the interpretation must be so obvious as to leave no scope for any reasonable doubt: see CILFIT v. Ministero della Sanità [1983] 1 CMLR 472; Garland v. British Rail [1983] 2 AC 751. In relation to matters of primary law, for example the treaties, the court may rule only on interpretation; in respect of secondary law, like regulations, the court can also rule on validity. Once the court has ruled, the case is returned to the national court to apply as appropriate.

Collins dictionary of law. . 2001.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • preliminary — pre‧lim‧i‧na‧ry [prɪˈlɪmnri ǁ neri] adjective [only before a noun] coming before something more official, more important etc: • Preliminary estimates indicate that earnings will decline substantially from a year ago. • The group will set the… …   Financial and business terms

  • ruling — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun ADJECTIVE ▪ authoritative (esp. BrE), definitive ▪ unanimous ▪ adverse ▪ favourable/favorable (esp. AmE) ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • preliminary — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun ADJECTIVE ▪ essential (esp. BrE), necessary ▪ usual (esp. BrE) ▪ After the usual preliminaries the meeting began. PREPOSITION ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • European Court of Justice — Not to be confused with the European Court of Human Rights, the court of the Council of Europe. ECJ redirects here. For the collective judicial institutions of the European Union, see Court of Justice of the European Union. For other uses, see… …   Wikipedia

  • Factortame case — The Factortame case is a landmark decision in United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) law, which confirmed the supremacy of European Union law over national law in the areas where the EU has competence. The decision, which formed part of a… …   Wikipedia

  • Dates of 2004 — ▪ 2005 January It turns out we were all wrong, probably, in my judgment. David Kay, former U.S. chief weapons inspector in Iraq, in testimony to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, January 28 January 1              Haitian Pres. Jean… …   Universalium

  • Costa v ENEL — European Court of Justice Decided July 15, 1964 Full case name Flaminio Costa v E.N.E.L …   Wikipedia

  • Germany — /jerr meuh nee/, n. a republic in central Europe: after World War II divided into four zones, British, French, U.S., and Soviet, and in 1949 into East Germany and West Germany; East and West Germany were reunited in 1990. 84,068,216; 137,852 sq.… …   Universalium

  • March 2004 — March 2004: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December Events …   Wikipedia

  • General Court (European Union) — General Court Established 1989 Jurisdiction European Union Location Luxembourg, Luxembourg Website [1] …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”