The ECJ’s Approach to Dual Preliminarity 5 Years after the ItCC’s Judgment No. 269/2017

This article examines the European Court of Justice (ECJ)’s perspective on dual preliminarity (doppia pregiudizialità) five years after the notorious obiter dictum of the Italian Constitutional Court (ItCC) in its judgment No. 269/2017. More precisely, the article aims at unravelling the essential requirements that any such “triangular” relation (between ordinary national courts, national Constitutional Courts, and the Kirchberg Court) shall satisfy to comply with European Union (EU) law. This analysis builds both on the “classics” and on the recent cases involving (blatant or disguised) restrictions on Hungarian and Romanian judges to refer to the ECJ or apply EU law. Against this backdrop, the compatibility of the current configuration of dual preliminarity in Italy with EU law will be assessed. Although a specific assessment in this regard has not been carried out by the ECJ (yet?), we contend that the refinements and adjustments in the more recent ItCC’s case law have remedied the main issues envisaged in the obiter dictum. Therefore, the current configuration seems to pose no serious threats to the EU systemic principles involved nor to EU law’s uniformity, coherence, and effectiveness. Indeed, provided that national judges continue to enjoy the actual power to refer freely to the ECJ and immediately set aside national law provisions incompatible with EU law rules, the ECJ has adopted a “secularist” approach and respects the Member States’ constitutional models. This article also argues that the early-stage involvement of ItCC’s (“first word”) in the dialogue with the ECJ may well serve the interests of a composite and pluralist system of fundamental rights protection in the EU. We will offer as an example the recent case on the Italian rules on childbirth and maternity allowances, which marks a step down the path of a “cooperative” dialogue between the two courts and shows the potentialities (and the little drawbacks) of such an early involvement

IL COORDINAMENTO DELLE GIURISDIZIONI PENALI DEGLI STATI MEMBRI DELL'UNIONE EUROPEA

2003/2004XVII Ciclo1977Versione digitalizzata della tesi di dottorato cartacea

Two Courts, two Languages? The Taricco Saga Ends on a Worrying Note

The epic story of the confrontation between the Italian Constitutional Court (ICC) and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that has become known under name Taricco has come to an end at last – somewhat different than expected, but nevertheless. On May 31 the ICC has handed down its final judgment. The hatchet between the Courts is buried. But the way it was done by the ICC is by no means conciliatory.</p

Outcomes of Treatment of Eyelids and Third Eyelid Tumours in Dogs Using High-Frequency Radiowave Surgery

: In human ophthalmology, the benefits of using high-frequency radiowave (HFR) electrocautery for surgical procedures were demonstrated and include effective haemostasis, shorter surgery times, and rapid recovery. In canine eyelid surgery, intraoperative bleeding is a common feature that may obscure the surgical field view and lead to the increased swelling of adjacent tissues, bruising, and pain. To evaluate the efficacy and benefits of HFR electrocautery in canine eyelid and third eyelid surgery, the medical records of 48 surgical excisions of eyelid tumours (involving up to one-third of the eyelid length) and 4 third eyelid excisions were reviewed. The information was collected including the breed, age, clinical signs, HFR power setting and mode of the surgical unit, electrode used for the surgery, intraoperative complications, histopathological diagnosis, and postoperative outcomes. Surgical techniques were performed using the Surgitron Dual 3.8 MHz Frequency RF device (Ellman International, Oceanside, NY, USA). Intraoperative bleeding was recorded as absent or very mild, and the surgical procedures were very fast. No complications occurred during the procedures. Healing within 10 days was observed in all the dogs. No tumour recurrences were recorded at the 12-month follow-up. HFR electrosurgery proved to be a safe, effective, and easy-to-perform technique for the removal of eyelid and third eyelid tumours in dogs