Summary• The Court of Justice can only rule on the interpretation of treaties and the validity of secondary EU law, under Article 267 TFEU. • Referrals are discretionary or mandatory. • Bodies that can make a referral must be courts or tribunals that meet the Dorsch criteria. Conclusions • If a judicial remedy is available from a particular UK court, then that specific court has discretion to make a referral. • If there is no judicial remedy available (usually the court in question is the Supreme Court), then a referral would be mandatory. • Before making a reference, courts must take into account the guidelines of case law. Recommendations • UK courts will need to be certain of the matters they would be referred to, particularly as the procedure is lengthy and expensive. • Guidance should always be considered in detail, to ensure that making an adjournment is the right choice for the specific case .IntroductionThe purpose of this report is to explain the preliminary ruling procedure, under Article 267 TFEU, and its relationship with UK law, to discuss its guidelines, present potential criticisms of the issue and provide some recommendations on management of preliminary rulings. Preliminary references Preliminary references are used on matters relating to EU legislation such as:1. The interpretation of the treaties;2. The validity of Union measures, bodies, offices or agencies. These can be discretionary or mandatory. The function of the preliminary ruling procedure is to ensure that the interpretation and validity of EU law is the same in all Member States. Who can make a referral? Any court or tribunal can make a reference on EU legislation to.... .. middle of paper ......Gomis and others C-167/94 ECR I-1023 Criminal proceedings against Saddik C-458/ 93 [1995] ECR I-511Da Costa v Netherlands case 28-30/62 [1963] ECR 31Dorsch Consult Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH v Bundesbaugesellschaft mbH C-54/96 [1997] ECR I-496Foglia v Novello n. 1 Case 104/79 [1980] ECR 745Foto-Frost v Hauptzollamt Lübeck-Ost Case 314/85 [1987] ECR 4199Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association v Ireland Cases 36 and 71/80 [1981] ECR 735 Magnavision v General Optical Council No. 2 [1987] 2 CMLR 262 Meilicke v ADV/ORGA AG Case C-83/91 [1992] ECR I-4871R v International Stock Exchange of the UK and the Republic of Ireland Ltd, ex p Else (1982) Ltd and others [ 1993] 2 CMLR 677R v Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain [1987] 3 CMLR 951R v Secretary of State for Transport ex parte Factortame [1989] 3 CMLR 1Rheinmühlen/Einfuhr cases 146 and 166/73 [1974] ECR. 33