The Rising Value of the Preliminary Reference Procedure in the Rule of Law Protection

This chapter aims to illustrate the preliminary reference procedure’s role in the context of the systemic threats to the rule of law that have occurred in the European Union by paying particular attention to the potentialities and limits of this procedure, as highlighted by the academic literature. It is suggested that the preliminary reference procedure has not only served as a procedural tool through which the dissensus has been “channelled” but has also attracted contrasting academic views. It is argued that Article 267 TFEU has proved essential for the Union to tackle the backsliding of the rule of law in several Member States. However, it should be understood as a “complementary tool” in the Union’s toolbox, rather than being considered the single panacea for this crisis of values on which the Union is based. Such an understanding is deemed to be more in line with the role played by the preliminary reference procedure in the history of the European integration process.