The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued an interim-ruling saying that the European Central Bank's (ECB) Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) programme is compatible with EU laws. 

The case was brought to the court by a group of German citizens, and the political party Die Linke. They claimed that the German government had failed to take sufficient action to the question the ECB's bond-buying programme.

This interim ruling represents a victory for ECB president Mario Draghi. He introduced the OMT programme in 2012. The mechanism involves the ECB buying the bonds of euro zone countries that are in bailout programmes.

The OMT programme is different to quantitative easing (QE), which sees a central bank expanding its money supply by buying up assets with new money. Although a full QE programme would be on a broader scale than OMT, the provisional ruling clears the way for the use of the unconventional economic tool.

Speculation is mounting that a QE programme could be introduced when the ECB's governing council meets in Frankfurt on January 22nd.

A number of German officials, including Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann, have argued that the ECB does not have the legal power to use QE.

Speaking to German newspaper Die Zeit ahead of the ECB meeting, Mario Draghi has commented on criticisms of him, particularly from Germans. He warned that the ECB has to act in the best interest of 19 countries, not just one, adding: “This is the message that some in Germany need to understand.”

Significantly the ECB statement says: "The ECB must have a broad discretion when framing and implementing the EU’s monetary policy, and the courts must exercise a considerable degree of caution when reviewing the ECB’s activity, since they lack the expertise and experience which the ECB has in this area."

This is a non-binding ruling, the final decision is expected in the next four to six months - but it is likely that the ECJ will uphold the decision.