Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1. Preliminary rulings Jurisdiction of the Court Limits Interpretation sought owing to the applicability of a provision of Community law to an internal situation as a result of a reference made by national law Jurisdiction to provide such an interpretation

(EC Treaty, Art. 177 (now Art. 234 EC))

2. Customs union Application of the customs rules Right of action Appeal procedure against decisions of the customs authorities Whether an appeal to the judicial authority must be preceded by an appeal to the customs authority Application of national law

(Council Regulation No 2913/92, Art. 243)

3. Customs union Application of the customs rules Right of action Suspension of implementation Authorities competent to suspend implementation

(Council Regulation No 2913/92, Arts 243 and 244)

Summary

1. Neither the wording of Article 177 of the Treaty (now Article 234 EC) nor the aim of the procedure established by that article indicates that the framers of the Treaty intended to exclude from the jurisdiction of the Court requests for a preliminary ruling on a Community provision where the domestic law of a Member State refers to that Community provision in order to determine the rules applicable to a situation which is purely internal to that State.

Where, in regulating internal situations, domestic legislation adopts the same solutions as those adopted in Community law so as to provide for one single procedure in comparable situations, it is clearly in the Community interest that, in order to forestall future differences of interpretation, provisions or concepts taken from Community law should be interpreted uniformly, irrespective of the circumstances in which they are to apply.

( see paras 21, 32 )

2. Article 243 of Regulation No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code is to be interpreted as meaning that it is for national law to determine whether a trader must initially lodge an appeal against a decision of the customs authorities before the customs authority or whether he may appeal directly to the judicial authority.

Article 243 forms part of Title VIII of the Customs Code, on appeals. Unlike a considerable number of the substantive provisions of the Customs Code, the provisions in that title concern only a number of essential aspects relating to the protection of the traders concerned, but do not lay down detailed rules governing the appeals procedure. Therefore, in adopting only the broad outlines of the appeals procedure, the Community legislature did not preclude that national law might authorise a trader, in appropriate circumstances, to lodge an appeal directly before an independent authority. Nor is there anything in the Community legislation to support the conclusion that it authorises a trader to bypass an appeal before the customs authority and appeal directly to the independent body, where under the applicable national law an appeal to the customs authority is mandatory.

( see paras 37-39, 42-43, and operative part 1 )

3. Article 244 of Regulation No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code is to be interpreted as meaning that it confers the power to suspend implementation of a contested decision exclusively on the customs authorities. However, that provision does not limit the power of the judicial authorities seised of a dispute pursuant to Article 243 of that Code to order such suspension in order to comply with their obligation to ensure the full effectiveness of Community law.

( see para. 49, and operative part 2 )