Composite Procedures and Procedural Guarantees: The “Borelli Doctrine” in the Light of Model Rules

In European Court of Justice case law the Oleificio Borelli case represents a paradigmatic example of the lack of protection that may occur during composite procedures, undermining the protection of individuals and, as a result, the principles on which EU administrative action is based. After an introduction on composite administrative procedure, sketching the main features of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) in the context of which the Borelli case arose, this paper aims to re-read the leading case in the light of the draft of codification on administrative procedure presented by the Working Team ReNEUAL (Model Rules) in order to verify if, applying the Model Rules, the lack of procedural guarantees which emerged in that case can be dealt with. It will be argued that the insufficiencies that the Borelli case has shown can be addressed by shifting focus from the national court procedure to the lack of procedural safeguards at the confluence of national and EU law.