http://dx.doi.org/10.17176/20211126-215840-0 https://verfassungsblog.de/the-sanctity-of-preliminary-references/ The Sanctity of Preliminary References - An analysis of the CJEU decision C-564/19 IS Bárd, Petra eng 2021-11-26 electronic resource text/html ddc:342 Disciplinary Proceedings European Court of Justice Hungarian Supreme Court judicial independence preliminary reference Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog--2366-7044 CC BY-SA 4.0 A national supreme court must not declare a request for a preliminary ruling by a lower court unlawful on the ground that the referred questions are irrelevant and unnecessary for the original case. This has been held by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in its important decision C-564/19 IS. In addition, the CJEU held that EU law also precludes disciplinary proceedings from being brought against national judges on the ground that they made a reference for a preliminary ruling. The case also raises important questions to what extent preliminary rulings can be effective against rule-of-law decline and make up for political EU institutions’ failure to use adequate EU tools of supervision and enforcement.