Prejudiciële vraag
Preliminary question
A prejudicial question is a question that a lower court refers to the Supreme Court concerning the interpretation of a legal rule in order to ensure uniformity in the administration of justice.
A preliminary question is a procedural instrument by which a court hearing a pending case refers a question of law to the Supreme Court. This occurs where the answer to that question is relevant to ensuring uniformity in the law or to its further development, and the lower court is unable to resolve the matter itself.
The Supreme Court’s answer is, in principle, binding on the referring court. The procedure expedites the resolution of similar cases and prevents conflicting decisions across different judicial districts.
In addition to this national mechanism, there is also the possibility of a preliminary reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union under Article 267 TFEU, where the focus lies on questions of interpretation of EU law.
“The court decided to refer a preliminary question to the Supreme Court regarding the scope of the duty of care in investment advice.”
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