Cooperation Between Lithuanian Administrative Courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Development of European Union Law: Constructive Dialogue

Santrauka

This article aims to assess the trends of cooperation between the administrative courts of Lithuania and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) based on the preliminary ruling procedure. The article consists of two parts. First, the nature and importance of the preliminary ruling procedure itself are briefly discussed. The transformations of the system of national courts have recently started in several EU Member States and the CJEU case law, developing the principle of independence of the judiciary, triggered by these transformations, calls for reassessment of the importance of the preliminary ruling procedure. The second part of this article evaluates the tendencies and the practices of the Lithuanian administrative courts in referring questions to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling.
The above-mentioned analysis leads to several conclusions. First, the fundamental role of the preliminary ruling procedure in development of EU law and ensuring its effectiveness at national level are emphasized and the importance of cooperation with national courts is stressed. Second, analysis of the case law of Lithuanian administrative courts reveals that they recognize the specific nature and principles of EU law and consistently apply it in their judicial activities. So far, Lithuanian administrative courts and the CJEU are engaged in rather intensive dialogue thus contributing to a consistent development of EU law.