The Triangular Relationship between the Commission, NRAs and National Courts Revisited

In this article, the authors review the relationship between the Commission, the national regulatory authorities (NRAs) and national courts in light of the Commission's proposals for reform as laid out in the 2006 Review. They focus upon the Article 7 and Article 4 procedures of Directive 2002/21. They conclude that the Commission proposals leave key questions and their implications outside of discussion and fail to address core issues such as the standard of assessment under Article 7, the accountability for decisions taken upstream of the NRA, and the scope and depth of judicial review.