Srl CILFIT and Lanificio di Gavardo SpA v. Ministry of Health
European Court of Justice
E.C.J. Case 283/81 (1982)
- Written by Victoria Sarant , JD
Facts
In a dispute between the Italian Ministry of Health and wool importers including Srl CILFIT and Lanificio di Gavardo SpA (collectively, the wool importers), a question arose about the interpretation of a European Economic Community (EEC) customs regulation. The health ministry asserted that there was no interpretative doubt about the regulation and thus no need to submit the matter to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a preliminary ruling. However, the wool importers argued that because the matter of interpretation had been raised before the Italy Supreme Court of Cassation (i.e., Italy’s highest court in nonconstitutional matters), and there was no judicial remedy against the Court of Cassation’s rulings in Italy, the interpretation question had to be submitted to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling. In light of these conflicting positions, the Court of Cassation stayed legal procedures on the case and asked the ECJ for a preliminary ruling on the question of the circumstances in which national courts must submit questions regarding the interpretation of EEC law to the ECJ.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning ()
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