Procedures in the Court of Justice -
Introduction
There are three main procedures at the Court of Justice:
- Infringement proceedings against member states initiated by the Commission or other member states ( under Article 19 (3) (a) TEU, Article 258 to 260 TFEU)
- (Other) actions against European Union acts initiated by member states, institutions or individuals ( under Article 19 (3) (a) TEU, Article 263 TFEU)
- Preliminary reference procedures, initiated by member state courts ( under Article 19 (3) (b) TEU, Article 267 TFEU)
Only the preliminary reference procedure provides for a role for domestic judges. In practice, infringement proceedings can also have a major influence on the outcome of domestic proceedings, in particular as regards environmental law. In contrast, (other) direct actions are only rarely of interest to a domestic judge.