The Italian Constitutional Court Strengthens the Dialogue with the European Court of Justice Lodging for the First Time a Preliminary Ruling in an Indirect ('Incidenter') Proceeding

Abstract

With the order no. 207 of 23 July 2013 the Italian Constitutional Court (ICC), lodging a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU in a proceeding in which it had been seized on an interlocutory basis, has at last enrolled in the club of constitutional courts which enjoy a direct dialogue with the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The article examines premises and consequences of this ruling in the context of the previous case law of the ICC in order to situate it in the frame of the ICC doctrine on the relationship between Italian law and EU law. Two main views are argued for: firstly, that the willingness of the ICC to openly dialogue with the ECJ cannot be interpreted as a renouncement of the dualist stance of the ICC itself; secondly, that the pragmatic reason why the ICC is willing this time to accept its role as a referring court under Article 267 of TFEU seems to reside in the involvement in the case at stake of sensitive constitutional principles. As regards the latter point some considerations on what a confrontation between the two courts about constitutional issues may imply are drawn.