Guidebook Under EU law the possibility for NHRIs to participate in cases before the CJEU is significantly more limited. The CJEU specifies that only specific actors may participate before the CJEU.420 This is possible in both preliminary references and direct action.421 The more relevant actions are however preliminary references.422 In order to participate in a preliminary reference proceeding, the NHRI would need to be party to the main domestic proceedings prior to the reference being made.423 Any party to the national case can request a preliminary ruling before the CJEU. Also an intervener in domestic proceedings has the possibility to recommend in its oral or written submissions that the court makes a preliminary reference on an issue that it has raised. Should the domestic court conclude that a reference is required it will submit the reference to the CJEU. This submission will usually be drafted by the party requesting it. The court may then give the intervener the chance to commentate on the suggested draft reference. Yet an intervention in domestic proceedings does not assure being recognized as a main party before the CJEU and still requires the CJEU authorisation. This was clarified in R (British American Tobacco UK Ltd) v Secretary of State for Health,424 where the CJEU pointed out that not every intervener can be considered automatically a party and that “some level of proportionate restraint should be exercised and encouraged on the part of domestic courts in the categorisation of all those anxious to participate as “parties”.”425 Interveners with ‘adequate interest’ in the result of the proceedings will however typically be granted standing to appear in the CJEU. Much like in domestic proceedings, the CJEU will not allow an intervention for no reason and is especially sensitive to interventions that may delay the proceedings for no justifiable reason.426 Despite the limited opportunities provided by EU law, there are some examples of NHRIs who have participated in proceedings before the CJEU, although not on cases concerning procedural rights. Poland COMPLAINTS HANDLING AND PARTICIPATION IN COURT PROCEEDINGS administrative case held before the Supreme Administrative Court428 and the last is a joined case from two common courts429. The Polish NHRI used his power to join the proceedings at the domestic level as third party intervener to become a participant before the CJEU. 430 In general, however, EU law makes NHRIs participation before the CJEU very difficult, because it requires NHRIs to first be a party or a third part of domestic proceedings. If this certainly protects the CJEU from receiving too many amicus curiae briefs, it also poses an obstacle to a possible fruitful dialogue between NHRIs and the CJEU on the fundamental rights, and may be an additional reason why NHRIs do not often use or refer to EU law in their work. It is therefore advisable to amend the relevant EU law provisions in order to grant NHRIs the right to intervene before the CJEU similarly to that before the ECtHR. Particularly effective may be joint submissions that is amicus curiae submitted by a coalition of NHRIs or a network. Joint interventions can give NHRIs’ voice more authority and limit the impact on the workload of courts. Moreover, joint submissions can be used to provide courts with a comparative overview of the different national systems. Joint submissions Thus far there was no intervention regarding the rights of suspects and accused but the possibility was used in other instances, such as the cases Strøbye v. Denmark (25802/18) and Rosenlind v. Denmark (27338/18) submitted by ENNHRI under the lead of the Danish Institute of Human Rights;431 and the case Gauer and others v. France (61521/08) in the framework of which IHRC worked in cooperation with the CNCDH and on behalf of the European Group of NHRIs (now ENNHRI). 432 In the Strøbye v. Denmark (25802/18) and Rosenlind v. Denmark (27338/18) the submission by ENNHRI provided the ECtHR with an overview of the international human rights framework but also of the relevant legislation and jurisprudence across the 17 EU Member States. The Polish NHRI is currently involved in four cases before the CJEU. All of the four cases concerned the question of the independence of the judiciary. Two are civil cases held before the Supreme Court427, one is an o 104 105