Între eficienţă și uniformitate: mecanismul trimiterilor preliminare, Doctrina Acte Clair și valorile UE
Between Efficiency and Uniformity: The Preliminary Ruling Mechanism, Acte Clair Doctrine, and the Values of the EU

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to highlight the indispensable role of the preliminary ruling mechanism (Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, hereinafter TFEU) in the process of legislative harmonization within the European Union. By analyzing the judicial dialogue between national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter CJEU), we will observe how the binding and uniform interpretation of EU law carried out by the CJEU through the preliminary ruling procedure has facilitated the coherence of the contemporary European legal system. Furthermore, the evolution of the acte clair doctrine (as established in the CILFIT and Consorzio cases) will be examined, as an exception to the obligation to refer questions to the CJEU. The study explores the inherent tension between the doctrine's aim of procedural efficiency and the fundamental values of the EU, particularly in relation to the rule of law. This research emphasizes the risk that unjustified application of the acte clair doctrine by national courts may lead to divergent interpretations, there by undermining harmonization and the principles of the rule of law, which require a uniform and predictable application of EU law, ensured by the CJEU's final interpretative authority through the preliminary ruling procedure.

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