A court is said to be the last branch of government because it is the first defence of the individual – individuals rely on the judiciary to protect their rights and freedoms from intrusion by the exercise of public power. Does this apply to the CJEU? Does it protect individuals and Union citizens? To what extent does it act as the ‘third branch’ of government, ensuring that public powers are exercised in the interests of the ‘peoples’ of Europe, or even those people beyond affected by EU law such as the Inuits of Canada? These questions highlight the main themes in this chapter. They can only be partly answered by examining the organisation of the CJEU – its tasks and composition. A fuller answer requires further exploration of the extent to which individuals can access the Court to challenge Union legal acts. This chapter will therefore focus on the two main procedures to bring actions before the CJEU: direct actions via Article 263 TFEU and indirect actions under Article 267 TFEU.

This chapter is setting the scene for the research. It starts from the astonishment that on the one hand the CJEU time and again underlines the dialogical nature of the preliminary reference procedure, while there are very view visible signs of an actual exchange of views and preparedness to share responsibility. What does this mean? Is there actually a judicial dialogue between the CJEU and highest administrative and, if not, why would the latter accept that their relationship is presented in terms of a shared responsibility and mutual cooperation? Answers to these questions are sought through a study of the literature on judicial law making, a case law analysis and interviews with judges. To this end we analytically split the research up in three phases: interaction before a preliminary question is submitted, during the procedure in Luxembourg and after the CJEU has ruled. Moreover, we explain why the focus lies on “regular” Supreme (Administrative) Courts instead of constitutional courts, which have dominated the debate on judicial dialogues so far.