The European Court of Justice said "EU law precludes disciplinary proceedings from being brought against a national judge on the ground that he or she has made a reference for a preliminary ruling" (Photo: curia.europa.eu)

EU court tells Hungary to allow judges to ask for guidance

Rule of Law

by Eszter Zalan, Brussels,

Domestic judges in EU countries cannot be forbidden from seeking guidance from the EU's top court, or be disciplined for doing so, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Tuesday (23 November).

The ECJ ruled in the case of a Hungarian judge, Csaba Vasvári, who in 2019 asked for a preliminary ruling from the EU top court on the country's judicial independence.

His request was challenged by Hungary's prosecutor general, Péter Polt, a close ally of the country's nationalist pr...