By decision of 29 May 1997 the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States appointed seven Judges and four Advocates General to the Court of Justice for the period from 7 October 1997 to 6 October 2003. By that decision the terms of office of Mr Claus Gulmann, Mr John Murray, Mr Gil Carlos Rodríguez Iglesias (at present the President of the institution), Mr Romain Schintgen, Mr Leif Sevón and Mr Melchior Wathelet, Judges, and of Mr Francis Jacobs and Mr Dámaso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocates General, are renewed.

For biographical notes on those Members, please visit the Court of Justice internet site at http:\\europa.eu.int\cj\index.htm.

Since three Members of the Court must cease their duties on 6 October 1997, the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States also appointed their successors. The outgoing Members are Mr Constantinos Kakouris, Judge at the Court of Justice since 14 March 1983, Mr Carl Otto Lenz, Advocate General at the Court of Justice since 12 January 1984, and Michael Bendik Elmer, Advocate General at the Court of Justice since 7 October 1994. Biographical notes on those three Members are also available on the Court's internet site.

The three newly-appointed Members of the Court are:

Siegbert Alber, born in 1936, of German nationality, appointed as Advocate General. Following law studies at the universities of Tübingen, Berlin, Paris, Hamburg, Vienna, Turin and Cambridge, Mr Alber sat as a member of the Bundestag from 1969 to 1980. Elected to the European Parliament in 1977, he was a member of numerous committees, in particular of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights, which he presided over between 1993 and 1994. He was also chairman of the delegation responsible for relations with the Baltic States and of the subcommittees on data protection and on poisonous and dangerous substances. Between 1984 and 1992 he was Vice-President of the European Parliament.

Krateros Ioannou, born in 1935, of Greek nationality, appointed as Judge. Mr Ioannou was called to the Bar of Thessaloniki in 1963 and received a doctorate in international law from the University of Thessaloniki in 1971. He was professor of public international law and Community law at the law faculty of the University of Thrace and carried out numerous duties as legal adviser at national and international level; in particular, he was a Member of the Greek Delegation to the General Assembly of the UN from 1983 and Chairman of the Committee of Experts for the Improvement of the Procedure under the Convention of Human Rights of the Council of Europe from 1989 to 1992. He has also written numerous articles and books in English, French and Greek in the fields of public international law, Community law and on the law on the protection of fundamental rights.

Jean Mischo, born in 1938, of Luxembourg nationality, appointed as Advocate General. He studied law and political science at the universities of Montpellier, Paris and Cambridge. He was a Member of the Legal Service of the Commission and subsequently principal administrator in the private offices of various Members of the Commission. He became Deputy Permanent Representative of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the European Communities after having held various senior posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Grand Duchy. He was Advocate General at the Court of Justice from January 1986 to October 1991. He returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Grand Duchy and became Ambassador and Secretary General from 1 January 1993.

The three new Members of the Court will take up their duties after having been sworn in at a formal sitting of the Court of Justice, details of which will be published in due course.

For further information, please contact Mr T. Kennedy on (352) 4303 3355.