Order — ECLI:EU:C:2002:569
Date: 2002-10-08
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Competition;Free movement of goods
Concepts: Jurisdiction of the Court of Justice
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling - inadmissible
Origin: Italy

Summary of the Order 
Preliminary rulings — Admissibility — Questions not providing sufficient explanation 
of the factual and legislative context — Questions submitted in a context which precludes 
a useful reply 
(Art. 234 EC; EC Statute of the Court of justice, Art. 20) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-190/02 
The need to provide an interpretation of 
Community law which will be of use to the 
national court makes it necessary for the 
referring court to define the factual and 
legislative context of the questions it is 
asking or, at the very least, explain the 
factual circumstances on which those ques­
tions are based. It is also essential for the 
national court at least to give some expla­
nation of the reasons for the choice of the 
Community provisions which it requires to 
be interpreted and on the link it establishes 
between those provisions and the national 
legislation applicable to the dispute. In this 
connection, the information provided in 
orders for reference do not serve merely to 
enable the Court to give helpful answers, 
but also to enable the governments of the 
Member States and other interested parties 
to submit observations in accordance with 
Article 20 of the Statute of the Court of 
Justice. It is the Court's duty to ensure that 
that possibility is safeguarded, bearing in 
mind that, by virtue of the abovementioned 
provision, only the order for reference is 
notified to the interested parties. 
(see paras 14-16) 
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