Judgment_paragraph 29 · Agricola Tabacchi Bonavicina Snc di Mercati Federica (ATB) and Others v Ministero per le Politiche Agricole, Azienda di Stato per gli interventi nel mercato agricolo (AIMA) and Mario Pittaro (C-402/98)

29In that respect it should be borne in mind that Article 177 of the EC Treaty establishes direct cooperation between the Court of Justice and the national courts by way of a non-contentious procedure excluding any initiative of the parties who are merely invited to be heard in the course of that procedure. Under _ Article 177 it is for the national court, and not the parties to the main action, to bring a matter before, the Court of Justice. Since the right to determine the questions to be brought before the Court devolves upon the national court alone, the parties may not change the tenor of the questions (see, in particular, Case 44/65 Hessische Knappschaft v Singer [1965] ECR 965, at 970 and 971).