EUROPEAN UNION LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

EUROPEAN UNION LAW - Essay Example The reason why Costa wanted an application of Article 177 is to be able to draw an interpretation of Articles 102, 93, 53 and 37 of the said Treaty, all alleged by Costa to have been infringed by the new law. These provisions deal with proscribed legislative acts of Member States. In February 1964, the Milan Court filed for an application of preliminary ruling before the European Court of Justice (ECJ). 3 (a) Costa. The position of Costa was that ECJ acquires jurisdiction by the mere application of a preliminary ruling whereby the application clearly shows the need for Court interpretation of any of the provisions of the Treaty. Moreover, it is not within the prerogative of the Court to determine how a court of a Member State has arrived at the fact of the referral. 5 (b) Italian Government. The Italian Government contended that the application for preliminary hearing was in itself inadmissible because it asked the ECJ not only to interpret the Treaty but also rule on the compatibility of the Italian law with the Treaty. A national court, according to the Italian government, does not have recourse to the ECJ on the basis of an application for preliminary ruling when the dispute attendant to the case requires only the application of a domestic law and not one of the provisions of the Treaty. The only way to involve the ECJ, according to the Italian government, is through Articles 160 and 170 which deal with the European Commission’s direct intervention by bringing case to the ECJ after determination of Member State’s non-compliance with its orders and when a Member State brings a matter against another Member State to the ECJ, respectively. 6 Rationale for the Decision: Whether or not a case involves the application of domestic law and not the Treaty itself, the ECJ can acquire jurisdiction over it once an application for preliminary ruling is submitted showing a need for the interpretation of any of the Treaty