On Beauty and Being Fair: The Interaction of National and Supranational Judiciaries in the Development of a European Law on Remedies

Abstract

On the basis of an analysis of the Spanish case of Aziz v. Catalunyacaixa, this paper seeks to clarify the role of judges in the making of European private law. Building on Hans Micklitz's work on the normative design of this field of law, it is submitted that national judges in civil cases may under certain circumstances rely on the preliminary reference procedure to obtain backing from the Court of Justice of the European Union in regard to the handling of politically charged legal questions in their domestic systems.

Keywords: European law, contract law, remedies, supranational judiciaries, Aziz v. Catalunyacaixa

JEL Classification: K12