One Step too Far, One Step too Close. The Rocky Road Towards Defining the Scope of Judicial Review in CFSP Matters in light of KS and KD v Council and others and Neves77 Solutions

Under Articles 24 TEU and 275 TFEU, the Court of Justice’s jurisdiction in Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is, in principle, limited to reviewing acts breaching Article 40 TEU and those imposing restrictive measures. However, those limitations to judicial review must be interpreted narrowly, as they are exceptions to Article 19 TEU. That finding inaugurated a rocky road for the Court. Crossroad by crossroad, the CJEU has been called upon to progressively define the boundaries of its competence in CFSP matters. The article reflects on the implications of the last two steps the CJEU took in this regard. On one hand, it argues that the KS and KD v Council and Others ruling is a step too far on the Court’s jurisprudential road, as it ultimately deprives the limits to judicial review enshrined in Articles 24 TEU and 275 of their effet utile. On the other hand, the article contends that the Neves77 Solutions judgment is a step too close, since it fails to clarify in general terms the admissibility of preliminary references on the interpretation of CFSP provisions falling under the scope of the CJEU jurisdiction.