Case C-540/03, Parliament v. Council, Judgment of the Grand Chamber of 27 June 2006, [2006] ECR I-5769

This case provided the first opportunity for the European Court of Justice to rule on a Title IV instrument. In this case, the European Parliament challenged the lawfulness of several provisions of Directive 2003/86, on the right to family reunification. This Directive lays down the conditions for the exercise of the right to family reunification by third country nationals residing lawfully in the EU Member States; as well as imposing obligations, it also allows for some discretion on the part of the Member States. Only the national courts whose judgments are not subject to appeal are allowed to do so. It seems that in due course this situation will change: with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the special regime for preliminary rulings under Title IV EC Treaty will be abolished. Furthermore, at the time of writing a proposal of the Court to change its jurisdiction under Title IV is being discussed in Council.