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Preliminary reference procedure

Briefing 06-07-2017

The preliminary reference procedure, provided for in Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), is an institutionalised mechanism of dialogue between the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and national courts. This dialogue serves three principal purposes. First of all, to provide national courts with assistance on questions regarding the interpretation of EU law. Secondly, to contribute to a uniform application of EU law across the Union. Thirdly, to create ...

National Ombudsmen in the EU

Briefing 23-09-2010

All but one EU Member State has a national Ombudsman as part of the checks and balances of their constitution. Whilst their mandates, powers and jurisdictions vary, along with their titles, each can play an important role as an independent defender of citizens’ rights. Although the Ombudsman originated in Sweden in the nineteenth century, it is in the second half of the twentieth that the institution was adopted internationally. The growth of public administrations after 1945 is seen as the initial ...