Yesterday – 1st September 2024 – the EU Regulation no. 2024/2019 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024, amending Protocol No. 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, entered into force.

The amendments introduced by the Regulation at stake mainly aim to face the increase in the number and complexity of requests for a preliminary ruling under Art. 267 TFEU submitted to the CJEU, with a view to ensuring the proper administration of justice and promoting the efficiency of the judicial system of the Union.

With specific regard to the transport sector, among the above-mentioned amendments it is particularly relevant Art. 1(4) of EU Regulation 2024/2019, which amends the CJEU Statute by introducing Article 50-ter.

This ‘new’ provision essentially extends the jurisdiction of the EU General Court by conferring on it jurisdiction to hear and determine requests for a preliminary ruling that come exclusively within one or more of the following specific areas: (a) the common system of value added tax; (b) excise duties; (c) the Customs Code; (d) the tariff classification of goods under the Combined Nomenclature; (e) compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding or of delay or cancellation of transport services; and (f) the system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading.

The rule expressly preserves the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Justice in relation to requests for a preliminary ruling that raise independent questions relating to the interpretation of primary law, public international law, general principles of Union law or the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Therefore, from a procedural point of view, it is envisaged that every request under Art. 267 TFEU will in any case be submitted to the Court of Justice, which, only upon completion of the appropriate verifications, will have to transmit to the General Court those requests that turn out to fall – exclusively – within one or more of the above-mentioned areas.