This paper reviews the preliminary reference procedure of the European Community. This procedure is a distinctive judicial procedure from other domestic legal systems. It is a procedure which functions very similar to the appeal procedure in a domesti...
This paper reviews the preliminary reference procedure of the European Community. This procedure is a distinctive judicial procedure from other domestic legal systems. It is a procedure which functions very similar to the appeal procedure in a domestic judicial procedure. The purpose of the preliminary reference procedure is to make the Community law uniform throughout the Community. The uniformity of Community law would be achieved better if the Community has a single highest court which can receive appeals from the courts of the Member States. But the European Community is not an entity to have such a strong judicial system. That is why it adopted the preliminary reference procedure instead of the appeal procedure. Although the preliminary reference procedure is not as strong measure as the appeal system, it contributed to the uniform application of the Community law. In particular, the ECJ developed very important legal doctrines which are twin pillars of the Community law, so called, direct effect and supremacy of the Community law. Through these two doctrines which were developed by the preliminary procedure, the Community could achieve the integration of the Community.