16The procedure for referring questions for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC establishes a relationship of close cooperation between the national courts and the Court of Justice based on the assignment to each of different functions and constitutes an instrument by means of which the Court provides the national courts with the criteria for the interpretation of Community law which they need in order to dispose of disputes which they are called upon to resolve (Joined Cases C-260/00 to C-263/00 Lohmann and Medi Bayreuth [2002] ECR I-10045, paragraph 27).
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