11It is apparent from the decisions of the Court that it may well be in the interests of the proper administration of justice for a preliminary question not to be referred until after an inter partes hearing. Nevertheless, it must be recognized that the existence of an inter partes hearing does not appear among the conditions required to implement the procedure under Article 177 of the Treaty and that it is for the national court alone to assess the need to hear the defendant before making an order for reference (see the judgment in Case C-10/92 Balocchi [1993] ECR I-5105, paragraphs 13 and 14).
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