Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:1997:496
Date: 1997-10-16
Language of the case: Italian
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Right of establishment;Approximation of laws;Freedom to provide services
Concepts: Jurisdiction of the Court of Justice;Abnormally low tenders
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Italy

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Preliminary rulings — Jurisdiction of the Court — Limits — Question manifestly irrelevant 
(EC Treaty, Art. 177) 
2. Approximation of laws — Procedures for the award of public works contracts — Directive 
93/37 — Award of contracts — Abnormally low tenders — Rejected on application of the 
provisions in Article 30(4), Ust subparagraph, for derogation — Option available until 
31 December 1992 
(Counal Directive 93/37, Art. 30(4)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-304/96 
1. With regard to the procedure for prelimi­
nary rulings under Article 177 of the 
Treaty, it is for the national courts alone, 
before which the proceedings are pending 
and which must assume responsibility for 
the judgment to be given, to determine, 
having regard to the particular features of 
each case, both the need for a preliminary 
ruling to enable them to give judgment 
and the relevance of the questions which 
they refer to the Court. A request for a 
preliminary ruling from a national court 
may be rejected only if it is quite obvious 
that the interpretation of Community law 
sought bears no relation to the facts of 
the main action or to its purpose. 
2. Article 30(4), last subparagraph, of Direc­
tive 93/37 concerning the coordination of 
procedures for the award of public works 
contracts, which introduces temporary, 
derogating arrangements constituting an 
exception to the normal procedure laid 
down by Community legislation, must be 
interpreted as precluding contracting 
authorities from rejecting abnormally low 
tenders after 31 December 1992 without 
following the verification procedure pro­
vided for in the first subparagraph of that 
provision. 
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