Towards More Coherent Application of the EU Regulatory Framework for Energy through the Judicial Review of Decisions of National Regulatory Authorities

摘要

Given that the national courts hearing appeals against the decisions of NRAs in energy must have a full jurisdiction with regard to the contested decisions and, while reviewing these decisions, they must then rule on both law and fact (which the CJEU and ECtHR clearly confirm), it is quite obvious that these courts can decisively prejudge the fate of the decisions of NRAs, and, consequently, can effectively determine the legal status of the various kinds of stakeholders in energy sector. And it is really striking that, while under the EU regulatory framework for energy the regulatory actions of NRAs themselves are subject to a far-reaching influence exerted by other institutional actors in the sectors concerned, in particular by the Commission and ACER, with a view to ensuring a coherent and consolidated application by NRAs of the EU energy-specific regulation across the whole EU, a similar influence is not expressly provided for under the said framework with regard to the regulatory actions of national courts.