'See no Europe, hear no Europe, speak no Europe': An essay for intensifying judicial dialogue between the Aruban courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union
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Location research
Date
2024-12
Language
en
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Abstract
The European Union (EU) is currently composed of 27 Member States. A number of these EU Member States have territories beyond the European continent, and the relationship of these overseas territories with the EU find their extraordinary status reflected in the Treaties in two ways: overseas countries and territories (OCTs) and the outermost regions (ORs). The relationship between Aruba as a Dutch OCT and the European Union is first and foremost defined in Part IV of the TFEU and the Decision on the Overseas Association, including Greenland (DOAG). One question not answered in Part IV TFEU nor the DOAG is on the interpretation of EU law, and in particular, whether Article 267 TFEU applies to the OCTs. In other words: are courts and tribunals in the OCTs competent to submit questions to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) through the so-called preliminary reference procedure? In Kaefer and Procacci, the Court of Justice affirmed its jurisdiction to give a preliminary ruling on the question issued by OCT courts. Research by Geursen demonstrates that Dutch OCT judges admitted to not having submitted any preliminary references. The lack of judicial interaction between the (Dutch) OCT judges and Luxembourg is partly due to a knowledge gap on the competence of OCT judges to submit preliminary references to the CJEU. This essay aims to contribute to bridging this gap by setting out preliminary references by OCT courts and tribunals, examining its scope, conditions and limitations through the lens of the Dutch OCT of Aruba. It conducts an exploration of the fields of Aruban law where EU law is applicable, and considers some judicial-technical, procedural and practical aspects of submitting preliminary references.
Citation
Luk, N.C. (2024). 'See no Europe, hear no Europe, speak no Europe': An essay for intensifying judicial dialogue between the Aruban courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union. In Luk, N.C., Bonnevalle-Kok, R., Deogratias, B. & Huiskes, B. (eds.). (2024). Fruta di nos Hofi. Feestbundel ter gelegenheid van 35 jaar Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid van de Universiteit van Aruba. Uitgeverij Paris. 247-265.
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Uitgeverij Paris
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14473/1344