European Court of Justice and preliminary reference procedure today : national judges, please behave!

Preliminary ruling procedure is the area where the peculiar relationship between national judge and EU judge shapes itself in terms of veritable ‘co-jurisdiction’. This co-jurisdiction means also that each judge must shoulder his own responsibilities. So, if it is correct to ask the ECJ to always bear in mind the importance of preliminary reference procedure as a “proven motor of legal integration” , it is also necessary to remind the national judges, that it is their precise duty (according to Art. 4, para. 3, TEU) to avoid all misuse of preliminary reference procedure.