CYIL vol. 8 (2017)

CYIL 8 ȍ2017Ȏ

APPLICATION OF CILFIT CRITERIA BY CZECH SUPREME COURTS

APPLICATION OF CILFIT CRITERIA BY CZECH SUPREME COURTS Václav Stehlík

Abstract: The article deals with the preliminary ruling procedure as regulated in Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Specifically, it analyses how Czech supreme courts fulfil the criteria set up by the EU Court of Justice in the CILFIT case under which courts of last instance are not obliged to initiate the preliminary ruling procedure. Resumé: Článek se zabývá řízením o předběžné otázce podle článku 267 Smlouvy o fungo- vání Evropské unie. Konkrétně analyzuje, jak české nejvyšší soudy splňují kritéria stanovená Soudním dvorem EU ve věci CILFIT, podle nichž soudy posledního stupně nejsou povinny zahájit řízení o předběžné otázce. Key words: preliminary ruling procedure, Article 267 TFEU, national courts, Court of Justice of the European Union, CILFIT, Czech Supreme Court, Czech Supreme Administrative Court. On the Author: Associate professor JUDr. Václav Stehlík, PhD., JeanMonnet Chairholder in EU law, Department of International and European law, Faculty of Law, Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, e-mail: vaclav.stehlik@upol.cz. Essential framework The preliminary ruling procedure under Article 267 TFEU 1 played a crucial role in the formation of EU law and its impact in legal orders of EUMember States. Its main raison d’être is to support uniform application of EU law in the whole Union. This procedure establishes a cooperation between national courts and Court of Justice of the European Union (further referred to as Court of Justice or CJEU). National courts that hesitate about the correct interpretation of EU law or its validity are allowed and even obliged – if they are courts of last instance – to refer a question in that regard to the CJEU. Subsequent acceptance of conclusions reached by the CJEU by national courts has been a key element to insure full efficiency of the EU law. The obligation of national courts of last instance to initiate such a procedure is set up in the EU founding treaties. Furthermore, in the decisions Da Costa 2 and CILFIT, 3 the CJEU stipulated strict conditions for relieving the courts of last resort from this obligation. These are known as the acte clair and acte éclairé doctrines . According to the acte clair doctrine , the court of last instance has no duty to initiate the preliminary ruling procedure on condition that the correct application of EU law is so clear that it leaves no scope for any reasonable doubt as to the manner in which the question 1.

1 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, OJ C 326, 26.10.2012, p. 47-390. 2 28-30/62 Da Costa en Schaake NV [1963] ECR 61. 3 283/81 Srl CILFIT and Lanificio di Gavardo SpA v. Ministry of Health [1982] ECR 3415.

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