Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The Council of the European Union, which represents member states, today gave the final green light to reform the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, with the aim of ensuring a more effective administration of justice by the Court of Justice and the General Court.
According to a European statement issued in Brussels today, the reform was implemented in the context of a steady increase in the number of cases brought before the Court of Justice. It takes advantage of the General Court's capacity to handle the additional workload resulting from a previous reform that increased the number of judges in the General Court.
Major changes
The amendments to Protocol No. 3 regarding the Statute of the Court of Justice, adopted today, transfer jurisdiction to issue preliminary rulings from the Court of Justice to the General Court in the following specific areas:
The unified system of value added tax
Fees charged
Customs code
Customs classification of goods under combined designations
Compensation and assistance for passengers whose transportation services were delayed, canceled, or prevented from boarding the plane
Greenhouse gas emissions trading allowance scheme
The Court of Justice will retain jurisdiction over applications for a preliminary ruling that raise questions of principle, such as the interpretation of treaties or the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The reform will also expand the current liquidation mechanism for appeals against decisions of the General Court when it comes to a decision issued by a federal body, office or agency with an independent appeals board. Under this mechanism, if a case is heard by an independent Board of Appeal and then by the General Court, it will only be allowed to be referred to the Court of Justice if it raises a question of importance regarding the unity, consistency or development of EU law.
In addition, the reform will increase the transparency of procedures for preliminary ruling applications. It provides that written observations submitted by any interested person pursuant to Article 23 of Protocol No. 3 will be published on the website of the Court within a reasonable time after the conclusion of the proceedings, unless that person raises objections to the publication of his or her own observations. Written submissions.
Next steps
In order for the transfer of preliminary ruling jurisdiction to the General Court to be practically applicable, it is necessary to amend the rules of procedure of the Court of Justice and the General Court. For this purpose, the two courts submitted to the Council draft amendments to their respective rules of procedure for approval, which are currently under study.
The publication of the amended Regulations of Protocol No. 3 on the Statutes of the Court of Justice and the amended Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice and the General Court will be coordinated, so that the three texts enter into force at the same time.
This came after the Court of Justice submitted a proposal to amend Protocol No. 3 on its statute in December 2022. The changes were agreed under the normal legislative procedure in negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council on 7 December 2023, with the participation of the Court of Justice. And the Commission.