Judgment_paragraph 27 · The Queen, on the application of International Air Transport Association and European Low Fares Airline Association v Department for Transport (C-344/04)

27It is settled case-law that national courts do not have the power to declare acts of the Community institutions invalid. The main purpose of the jurisdiction conferred on the Court by Article 234 EC is to ensure that Community law is applied uniformly by national courts. That requirement of uniformity is particularly vital where the validity of a Community act is in question. Differences between courts of the Member States as to the validity of Community acts would be liable to jeopardise the very unity of the Community legal order and undermine the fundamental requirement of legal certainty (Case 314/85 Foto-Frost [1987] ECR 4199, paragraph 15; Case C-27/95 Bakers of Nailsea [1997] ECR I-1847, paragraph 20; and Case C-461/03 Gaston Schul Douane-expediteur [2005] ECR I-10513, paragraph 21). The Court of Justice alone therefore has jurisdiction to declare a Community act invalid (Joined Cases C-143/88 and C-92/89 Zuckerfabrik Süderdithmarschen and Zuckerfabrik Soest [1991] ECR I-415, paragraph 17; and Case C-6/99 Greenpeace France and Others [2000] ECR I-1651, paragraph 54).

The Queen, on the application of International Air Transport Association and European Low Fares Airline Association v Department for Transport (C-344/04)

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