Spain’s Supreme Court has issued two procedural orders in connection with the appeals brought by the regional governments of Valencia and Aragón challenging certain provisions of Royal Decree 316/2026, commonly referred to as the Foreign Regularization Decree. Through these orders, the Court has opened the possibility of referring questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling.

Before deciding on the interim measures requested by the regional governments, the Court has granted the parties a common, non-extendable period of five days to submit their views on whether a request for a preliminary ruling should be made to the CJEU.

The potential referral would concern certain provisions of the Royal Decree which, according to the Supreme Court’s procedural orders, could potentially conflict with European Union law. This mechanism allows national courts to seek guidance from the CJEU on the interpretation of EU law when such interpretation may be relevant to resolving a case.

It is important to note that the Supreme Court has not yet referred any questions to the CJEU, nor has it ruled on the requested interim measures. At this stage, the Court has simply invited the parties to present their observations before deciding whether a referral to the CJEU is appropriate.

The next steps in the proceedings will determine whether the Supreme Court ultimately decides to refer the matter to the CJEU and how these appeals will continue.

Source: Tribunal Supremo (Poder Judicial). El Tribunal Supremo da plazo a las partes para que informen sobre la procedencia de formular una cuestión prejudicial al TJUE sobre el Real Decreto de regularización de extranjeros

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