The Court of Justice of the European Union and the national Courts

Bringing a case before the European Court of Justice is something that can happen to any lawyer practicing either in the EU or in non-EU countries.

The growing development of EU legislation on various areas (e.g. jurisdiction over cross-border disputes, contract law, company and commercial law, customs law, environmental law, etc.) has raised the need of having these common rules be interpreted by the European Court of Justice, and having them uniformly applied by judges of Member States’ Courts.

Reference for preliminary rulings as per art. 234 EC Treaty (art. 267 TFEU) has therefore become a procedure that lawyers must be familiar with: starting from when and how national Courts can/must ask the ECJ for advice about the interpretation or validity of an EU law, as far as how the ECJ’s ruling on interpretation/validity applies in Member States’ jurisdictions, this seminar will cover all aspects related to procedure and type of actions, relevant case-law and practical hints on how to plead before the ECJ.

Moreover, the seminar will also focus on the interesting case-law of the ECJ on interim relief granted by national judges: (i) a Factortame-type situation, concerning the suspension of enforcement of national legal provisions incompatible with EU law, and (ii) a Z.A.P.-type situation, dealing with the suspension of enforcement of national measures implementing EU Regulations and positive interim orders not applying such regulations.

What to say about the city of the Seminar... Bordeaux, worldwide famous for its wine, is a UNESCO world heritage city that will surprise you with its fabulous squares, quarters, churches and palaces. You cannot miss to discover it!