Following the partial renewal of its Members, 1 the Judges of the Court met today to elect from among their number the President of the Court of Justice, who will hold office for a period of three years.
The Judges of the Court decided to renew the mandate of the present President, Mr Gil Carlos Rodríguez Iglesias, until 6 October 2003. He was first elected President of the Court of Justice on 7 October 1994, and reelected on 7 October 1997.
Extract from the Curriculum Vitae of Gil Carlos Rodríguez Iglesias
Gil Carlos Rodríguez Iglesias was born in Gijón (Spain) in 1946. He embarked on a long teaching career in several universities in Spain and elsewhere in Europe (University of Oviedo, University of Freiburg in Breisgau, Universidad Autónoma and Universidad Complutense, Madrid) and gained a Doctorate in Laws at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (1975). He was appointed Professor of Public International Law at the University of Extremadura in 1982 and the University of Granada in 1983. He held the latter post until he was appointed a Judge of the Court of Justice in 1986, when Spain acceded to the European Communities. He was made Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Turin (Italy) in April 1996, of the University of Cluj-Napoca (Romania) in June 1996 and of the University of the Sarre (Federal Republic of Germany) in July 1997.
He is an honorary member of Gray's Inn (London), King's Inn (Dublin), the Society of Advanced Legal Studies (London) and of the Academia Asturiana de Jurisprudencia.
Functions of the President of the Court of Justice
The President of the Court of Justice of the European Communities directs the departments of the Court; he presides at hearings and deliberations. It is also his responsibility to appoint the Judge-Rapporteurs.
In special proceedings (for example, applications for suspension of the operation of measures adopted by a Community institution), the President is vested with a number of specific powers, including notably that of determining such applications by means of a reasoned order against which no appeal may be brought.
This release is an unofficial document issued for use by the media. It is available in all the official languages
For additional information, please contact Mr Jean-Michel Rachet, tel: (00 352) 4303 3205; fax: (00 352) 4303 2034.
1 See Press Release Nº 73/2000 of 6 October 2000, which is available on the Court's internet site (www.curia.eu.int).