Effective judical review in the banking union

The principle of effective judicial protection enshrined in Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU plays an important role in the case-law of the CJEU on banking union, both in actions before the General Court and in preliminary rulings before the Court. Although most of the ECJ’s preliminary rulings concern interpretation rather than validity, this article focuses more on the latter and its importance for judicial review in the banking union. Judicial review in the banking union applies to complex vertical procedures (involving national authorities and EU institutions or agencies in the adoption of an EU legal act) and horizontal procedures (involving several European authorities). Article 47 of the Charter is central to two main aspects of vertical procedures: the scope of jurisdiction of the CJEU (which acts may be challenged and before which court - national or EU -) and the remedies available for such judicial review. However, the judicial review of national preparatory acts raises the question of the remedies available in complex vertical procedures and, in different ways, is problematic in complex horizontal procedures. The article addresses these issues and considers that the draft amendment to Protocol 3 to the Statute of the Court of Justice presented by the ECJ on 30 November 2022 should not have any impact on the banking union.