Protecting the jewel of the crown: the Ognyanov case and the preliminary reference procedure

In Ognyanov (judgment of 5 July 2016, case C-614/14), the Court of Justice held that Bulgarian courts have to set aside a national rule aimed at protecting fundamental rights of the parties that has the effect of automatically disqualifying a court that refers questions for a preliminary ruling along with the factual and legal context of the case. The rules of procedure of the Court of Justice regard the factual and legal context of the case as a constitutive element of preliminary references. Knowledge of the facts of the case and the applicable national law allows the Court of Justice to control the domestic application of EU law. Failure to include an accurate factual and legal context of the case is a ground for the declaration of the manifest inadmissibility of a preliminary
reference by the Court of Justice. The factual and legal context of a criminal case may, however, be drafted in such a way that compromises the impartiality of the court and the presumption of innocence of the accused.