1. State liability in case of an erroneous decision of the highest domestic judiciary Dr. Adam Zalasiński European Commission, DG TAXUD, and Nicolas Copernicus University Toruń, Poland

2. Structure of the problem Principles of State liability in case of referring a preliminary ruling Principles of State liability in case of non- referral Further problems for discussion

3. Principles of State liability in case of referring a preliminary ruling Error at different stages of application of law –Setting up the facts (Traghetti case) –Interpretation of relevant law –Application of the relevant law to the facts of the case

4. Principles of State liability in case of non-referral Sources of error (non-referral) –Holding EC law as irrelevant –Wrong assessment of the interpretative problem as Acte Clair –Erroneous application of the earlier cases dealing with the same question of law (Acte Éclairé)

5. Principles of State liability in case of non-referral Erroneous application of Acte Éclairé –Wrong assessment of similarity of cases –Wrong application of the earlier case as to the discrimination/restriction issue –Wrong application of the earlier case as to the justification

6. Further problems for discussion The new tendency in ECJ direct tax jurisprudence and state liability –Hesitancy in assessment of the facts by the ECJ –Providing domestic courts with EC law interpretation and leaving the final assessment to them