Lyckeskog
A national court whose decisions can be appealed only with permission from a higher court is not a court of last instance, because the higher court can refer when deciding whether to grant permission.
Facts
Mr Lyckeskog was prosecuted in Sweden for attempting to import a large quantity of rice from Norway without paying customs duty. He argued that he had imported it for his personal use, under EU rules. He appealed to the Swedish Court of Appeal, whose decisions could be appealed to the Supreme Court only if the Supreme Court gave permission. The Court of Appeal asked the Court of Justice whether it was a court of last instance, obliged to refer.
Legal principle
The Court of Justice held that the Court of Appeal was not a court of last instance. Decisions of a national appellate court which can be challenged by the parties before a supreme court are not decisions of a court or tribunal of a Member State against whose decisions there is no judicial remedy under national law. The fact that the merits of such appeals are subject to a prior declaration of admissibility by the supreme court does not have the effect of depriving the parties of a judicial remedy. If the supreme court had doubts about EU law, it would have to refer at the stage of considering admissibility.
Related cases on preliminary references
- Broekmeulen v Huisarts Registratie Commissie Case 246/80, [1981] ECR 2311
- Consorzio Italian Management v Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA Case C-561/19, EU:C:2021:799
- Da Costa en Schaake NV v Nederlandse Belastingadministratie Joined Cases 28/62 to 30/62, [1963] ECR 31
- Dorsch Consult Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH v Bundesbaugesellschaft Berlin mbH Case C-54/96, [1997] ECR I-4961
- Elchinov v Natsionalna zdravnoosiguritelna kasa Case C-173/09, [2010] ECR I-8889
- Foglia v Novello (No 1) Case 104/79, [1980] ECR 745
- Foto-Frost v Hauptzollamt Lübeck-Ost Case 314/85, [1987] ECR 4199
- HP Bulmer Ltd v J Bollinger SA [1974] Ch 401
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