National Pre-Authorisation Schemes and the EU's Demands for Objectivity Safeguards – Allowing Policy Discretion while Streamlining Administrative Process

The chapter focuses on how process is reviewed in the general framework of EU legal analysis applicable to national pre-authorisation schemes. By examining the model of judicial review developed by the Court of Justice in this regard, I hope to enrich the discussion on what process federalism within the Union can look like and how it may function. After some brief explanations regarding the characteristics of national pre-authorisation schemes, focus is on the role of judicial review where legitimate national interests may justify precautionary regulation, both in regard to the authorisation scheme itself and to the administrative decisions adopted within such a scheme - and how this is handled within the special federal context of the EU, where deference may be owed on more levels than within a single unitary legal system, but where the need to secure the rule of (EU) law seems all the greater.