Proceedings before the Referring Court after a Reference has been Made

Abstract

Chapter 9 provides an account of the steps that a national court may take after having made a preliminary reference. Making a preliminary reference does not imply that the case before the national court is transferred to the Court of Justice. On the contrary, the main proceedings remain pending before the referring court and that court thus retains jurisdiction to take any procedural measures which it is empowered to take under national law. A decision to make a preliminary reference may also be appealed to a superior national court, but, as a main rule, the superior court cannot overturn the lower court’s decision to make a preliminary reference. A national court may also order interim relief under EU law in connection with a preliminary reference. In this respect, the national court must consider the conditions for granting interim relief: (i) doubt as to the validity (fumus boni iuris), (ii) urgency, and (iii) balancing of the interests.