The Preliminary Ruling

Abstract

Chapter 11 examines the preliminary ruling as such, including the extent to which the Court of Justice reformulates the preliminary question. It considers when the Court of Justice renders the preliminary ruling as a judgment and when as an order. The chapter also examines when the Court narrows down the preliminary question, when it includes other EU law provisions, when it provides alternative answers, and when it includes issues that do not form part of the preliminary reference, but nevertheless may be relevant for the referring court’s decision of the main action. Moreover, chapter 11 analyses when and how the Court of Justice may tailor its preliminary ruling to the facts of the case before the referring court.