Practical Use of the Preliminary Ruling Procedure Before the National Courts: What's Next for the Macedonian Judiciary

The preliminary ruling procedure before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), according article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), aims to assist national courts in the correct and uniform application of European Union (EU) Law. It is in accordance with the principles of shared functions and cooperation between the CJEU and national courts. National courts are the ones that primarily apply and enforce EU law, but the interpretation of treaties and acts is up to the CJEU, especially since its judgments have a superior effect on the courts of all member states. Most of the procedures before the CJEU refer to the preliminary ruling procedure. If the membership negotiations were to start, the country would have to undertake a complete reform of the judicial system and the judges would have to acquire a broad knowledge of EU law, and in particular they would have to thoroughly know and understand this procedure and the opportunity that stands before the applicants, through the national courts, to refer to EU Law and thereby initiate such a procedure. After we become a member state of the EU, it is to be expected that there will be a surge of requests to initiate a preliminary ruling procedure before the CJEU. Hence the need for the Macedonian judiciary to be reformed in a timely manner in accordance with the EU standards and to respond to the challenges that will actually appear before the Macedonian judges. Keywords: procedure, national courts, Court of Justice, judges