Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2002:56
Date: 2002-01-29
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Free movement of capital
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling - inadmissible
Origin: Austria

Summary of the Judgment
Preliminary rulings — Reference to the Court — National court or tribunal within the
meaning of Article 234 EC — Definition — Appeal chamber of a regional finance
authority in Austria — Excluded
(Art. 234 EC)
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SUMMARY — CASE C-516/99
In order to determine whether a body
making a reference is a court or tribunal
for the purposes of Article 234 EC, which
is a question governed by Community law
alone, it is necessary to take account of a
number of factors, such as whether the
body is established by law, whether it is
permanent, whether its jurisdiction is com­
pulsory, whether its procedure is inter
partes, whether it applies rules of law and
whether it is independent. The criterion of
independence is not fulfilled by an appeal
chamber of a regional finance authority
(appellate tax authority) in Austria which is
competent to hear appeals against decisions
of the tax authorities.
The expression 'court or tribunal' within
the meaning of Article 234 EC can mean
only an authority acting as a third party in
relation to the authority which adopted the
contested decision, and it is impossible to
regard an authority such as the appeal
chamber as a third party, since there is an
organisational and functional link between
it and the regional finance authority which
adopts the decisions contested before it.
(see paras 34-38)
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