According to Article 267 TFEU, a ‘court or tribunal of a Member State’ can make a preliminary reference to the Court of Justice. The Court applies a single, homogeneous definition of a ‘court or tribunal’. This has allowed it to admit references from those specialised, independent, administrative bodies that in several Member States have been established instead of administrative courts to decide claims under public law, including EU law. Whet...

This contribution exposes some thoughts concerning the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) and the position of EU law in general, in light of the current challenges facing the European Union. The authority of the CJEU has been challenged in various Member States, as has the primacy of EU law, not only by politicians and the press, but also before and even by national courts, including certain constitutional c...