Court of Justice of the European Communities

The Court of Justice has fifteen judges and eight Advocates-General each appointed for six-year terms, and the lower Court of First Instance has fifteen judges also serving for six years. Members of the Courts are appointed by the Member States from the ranks of their senior judiciary.

The European Union is a legal entity, and the role of the Court is to provide the judicial safeguards necessary to ensure that the law is observed in the interpretation and application of the Treaties and generally in all of the activities of the EU.

Two main types of cases are brought before the Court of Justice:

A preliminary ruling may be requested by the courts and tribunals in the Member States whenever they need a decision on a question of Community law in order to make a judgment.
A direct action may be brought straight to the Court by the Commission or any of the Community Institutions or by a Member State.

The Court has built up a substantial body of supranational law. Its decisions have made Community law a reality for the citizens of Europe and often have important constitutional and economic consequences.

Court of First Instance

The Court of First Instance was created in 1989 with the aim of strengthening the judicial safeguards available to individuals, by introducing a second tier of judicial authority and enabling the Court of Justice to concentrate on its essential task, the uniform interpretation of Community law.

It deals with direct actions brought by individuals or companies. If there is an appeal against its judgment, then it is dealt with by the Court of Justice according to the procedure for other direct actions.

Publications

Judgments of the Court of Justice are translated into all of the official languages and published in the European Court Reports. This is the printed equivalent of Sector 6 of the CELEX database, available as the Case Law database.

Weekly information on the judicial proceedings of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance is published in the Proceedings of the European Court of Justice, which includes a short summary of judgments, and brief notes on opinions delivered by the Advocates-General and on new cases brought during the previous week. It also records the more important events happening during the daily life of the institution.

For further information, visit the Court of Justice of the European Communities Web site.