HL Deb 22 October 1997 vol 582 cc209-10WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there are measures in place to ensure that, where possible, the decisions of United Kingdom courts and tribunals to refer questions to the European Court of Justice under Article 177 of the EEC treaty are speedily carried out by court and tribunal administrators.

The Lord Chancellor

The question concerns a matter which has been assigned to the Court Service under the terms of its Framework Document. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to respond.

Letter to Lord Lester of Herne Hill from the Chief Executive of the Court Service, Mr. M. D. Huebner, dated 22 October 1997.

REFERRALS TO THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

The Lord Chancellor has asked me to reply to your Question about what measures there are in place to ensure that the decisions of United Kingdom courts and tribunals to refer questions to the European Court of Justice are carried out promptly.

The European Court of Justice has produced guidance on how to refer questions under Article 177 of the ECC Treaty and these have been distributed to both the judiciary and members of staff in all courts and tribunals for which the Court Service is responsible. Guidance is also available centrally for magistrates, although it is rare for cases to be referred from magistrates' courts.

In the courts, once judges have decided to refer cases, these are despatched by administrative staff following the guidelines. In the tribunals, the arrangements are as follows: The Chief Adjudicator for the Immigration Appellate Authorities settles questions of whether cases should be referred and these are despatched by his secretary. The Chief Commissioner for the Social Security and Child Support Commissioners decides such issues and they are despatched by nominated administrative staff. In the Combined Tax Tribunal these decisions are made by the President and despatched by the Registrar.