In this talk, Professor Millet will discuss the issue of last instance national courts’ duty to make a preliminary reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union in the light of the recent judgment in case C-561/19 Consorzio Italian Management. The abstract of the presentation can be found below.
In Case C-561/19 Consorzio Italian Management, the Court was offered the possibility to revisit the scope of last instance national courts’ duty to refer, in particular its Cilfit case-law. While Advocate General Bobek articulated a new test against the background of the flaws deriving from the judgment in Cilfit (and its progeny), the Court has not appeared willing to change tack. At the same time, the Court has introduced a few novelties, in particular the duty to state reasons for non-referral.
How can that decision to largely keep the status quo ante be interpreted? What were the strengths but also the potential weaknesses of the Opinion that could perhaps explain such a low-profile judgment? What other factors may have come into play? What of the duty to state reasons for not referring questions?
After a brief presentation of the opinion and the judgment by the speaker, the audience will be cordially invited to engage with all those issues and try to anticipate what could come next, if anything. Shall Cilfit be now considered the ultimate horizon for Article 267, third paragraph, TFEU or are there factors that could still lead to an overhaul in the near future? The participants are strongly recommended to read the Opinion and judgment in advance for a fruitful collective discussion.