When Are National Courts Obliged to Refer Questions?

AbstractChapter 6 defines when a national court must make a preliminary reference. In principle, a national court whose decision cannot be appealed against (a court of last instance) is obligated to make a reference for a preliminary ruling if the main proceedings give rise to a question about the interpretation or validity of EU law. The chapter analyses when a national court is regarded as being a court of last instance and it analyses when a court of last instance is exempt from the obligation to make a reference. Particular focus is upon the acte éclairé and acte clair doctrines. Chapter 6 also examines when national courts, other than those of last instance, have a duty to make a reference. The chapter also considers the legal consequences of a national court failing to comply with its obligation to make a reference; in this respect it considers the question of how a failure to make a preliminary reference may affect the validity of a national judgment, the duty to reopen the case file, the obligation to pay damages, the possibility that the Commission will initiate infringement proceedings, and the possibility that such failure will constitute an infringement of the European Convention on Human Rights.