The Interpretation Function of the European Judge - Basis for Preliminary Rulings

• Author: Dan Cimpoeru
• Position: Associate Professor, PhD, Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest
• Pages: 14-24

JURIDICA

14

The Interpretation Function of the

European Judge - Basis for Preliminary

Rulings

Dan CIMPOERU

1

Abstract: One of the legal mechanisms that have contributed to the str engthening of EU law in

relation to national legal systems is the reference for preliminary rulings. Essentially, in this

proceeding, the nationa l court refers a question and the Court of Justice of the European Union, in a

preliminary ruling, answer on the interpretation of EU law. Through these binding decisions with a

jurisdictional nature, the European judge not only ensures an official interpretation of EU law but an

uniformity of application. Unlike ordinary law court activity, where the object of judgment is a fact

that is related t o a rule of law, in a preliminary judgment, the object of judgment is the interpretation

of EU law p rovision. Similarly, a national constitutional court acts, it being the only competent

authority to interpret the Constitution of a State; from this p erspective, the Court of Justice of the

European Union is a true “European c onstitutional court” because it has the exclusive jurisdiction to

interpret Community law. The interpretation function of the Eu ropean judge, as well as that of

constitutional judge, has certain features that distinguish the jurisdictional activity of a fundamental

ordinary judge. This study aims to address this topic less studied by doctrine and capture those

features of the interpretation function of the European judge.

Keywords: interpretation function; EU law; Court of Justice of the European Union; p reliminary

rulings

1. Introduction

One of the fundamental texts of European treaties, crucial for the development of

EU law and its enforcement in the national legal systems, was the current art. 267

of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

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(former art. 234 of the

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Associate Pr ofessor, PhD, Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest.

Address: Bucharest, Sector 4, 10 Constantin Boianu Street, ap. 2, Romania. Tel.: +40.722.272911.

Corresponding author: dcimpoeru@gmail. com.

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Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning European Union, was published in the

Official Journal of the European Union no. 2010/C83/01 from 30. 03 . 2010. Article 267: The Court of

Justice of the European Union shall have jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings concerning a) the

interpretation of the Treaties b) the validity and interpretation of acts of the institutions, bodies,

offices or agencies of the Union; Where such a question i s raised bef ore any court or tribunal of a

Member State, that court or tribunal may, if it considers that a decision on the question is necessary to

AUDJ, vol. 9, no. 2/2013, pp. 14-24