Law and Rights
In British Airways plc v Sally Williams and others [2010] UKSC 16, the Supreme Court of the U.K. has made its first "preliminary reference" to the Court of Justice of the E.U. The case concerns the remuneration of pilots working for British Airways. It is necessary for the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of certain "Directives" before the court can finalise the case and, since there is no further national appeal, the Supreme Court is obliged to make the reference unless the meaning of the EU legislation is "clear" (the so-called "acte clair" doctrine). There have been many references to the Court of the Justice of the EU which, until the Lisbon Treaty came into force, was known as the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Among the most famous references were those in the Factortame litigation when the ECJ asserted the supremacy of EU law over even an Act of Parliament. [The "Supremacy of EU Law" was established by the ECJ very early in the history of the original "common market" and the British government's stance in Factortame was doomed to fail from the outset].
The preliminary reference procedure is set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and is explained here. Without such a procedure, national courts would be entirely free to interpret things in their own way and there would not be a uniform interpretation within the EU of the Treaties or other legislation.
On a rather lighter note, I was interested to see a case mentioned on the European Law blog which concerned taxation of places where people sit in their own individual booths watching porn movies! Have a look at the blog - "Dirty Movies, Solitary Pleasure and Concept of Cinema".
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Daniel Sarmiento, Professor of EU Law at the University Complutense of Madrid* Last week I published a post on Schipani v Italy, where I suggested that the Strasbourg court (the European Court of Human Rights) was becoming much stricter with national...
- Schipani V Italy: When Does The Echr Require National Courts To Refer Questions To The Cjeu?
Daniel Sarmiento, Professor of EU Law at the University Complutense of Madrid* The ECHR?s judgment in Schipani vs. Italy, of 21 July 2015, has reopened a subject that is close to the heart of many EU lawyers: the breach of the ECHR by a national...
- High Speed 2 ~ A Little Light Reading For The Weekend
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Updated 30th September: In an article in The Spectator, the present Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Chris Grayling MP) has set out his vision of the future relationship between the United Kingdom and 'Europe' - The Spectator...
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Law and Rights
Supreme Court makes a reference to the EU Court of Justice
The preliminary reference procedure is set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and is explained here. Without such a procedure, national courts would be entirely free to interpret things in their own way and there would not be a uniform interpretation within the EU of the Treaties or other legislation.
On a rather lighter note, I was interested to see a case mentioned on the European Law blog which concerned taxation of places where people sit in their own individual booths watching porn movies! Have a look at the blog - "Dirty Movies, Solitary Pleasure and Concept of Cinema".
- Final Courts? Obligations To Refer Questions: The Cjeu Clarifies Cilfit
Daniel Sarmiento, Professor of EU Law at the University Complutense of Madrid* Last week I published a post on Schipani v Italy, where I suggested that the Strasbourg court (the European Court of Human Rights) was becoming much stricter with national...
- Schipani V Italy: When Does The Echr Require National Courts To Refer Questions To The Cjeu?
Daniel Sarmiento, Professor of EU Law at the University Complutense of Madrid* The ECHR?s judgment in Schipani vs. Italy, of 21 July 2015, has reopened a subject that is close to the heart of many EU lawyers: the breach of the ECHR by a national...
- High Speed 2 ~ A Little Light Reading For The Weekend
The Supreme Court has handed down judgment in a judicial review of the government's plans for a High Speed Rail link between London, Birmingham and other cities further north. - High Speed 2 Alliance v Secretary of State for Transport [2014] UKSC...
- Grayling On Making The Supreme Court Supreme.
Updated 30th September: In an article in The Spectator, the present Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Chris Grayling MP) has set out his vision of the future relationship between the United Kingdom and 'Europe' - The Spectator...
- In The Supreme Court This Week
Habeas Corpus: The Supreme Court handed down judgment in Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs v Yunus Rahmatullah [2012] UKSC 48. The Court of Appeal (Civil Division) had issued a writ of habeas corpus with a view to securing Mr Rahmatullah's...