Presentation of the Members
Born 1947 in Ljubljana (Slovenia), Marko Ilešič obtained a law degree at the Faculty of Law of the Univerza v Ljubljani(University of Ljubljana, Slovenia) in 1970 before studying for a doctorate at that same university, where he presented his thesis in 1984. He furthered his knowledge of comparative law in specialist programmes organised by the université de Strasbourg (University of Strasbourg, France) and the Universidade de Coimbra (University of Coimbra, Portugal), graduating from those universities in 1978 and 1980, respectively.
He began his academic career in 1970 as a lecturer at the Univerza v Ljubljani, where, as a professor, he taught civil law, commercial law and private international law from 1984 to 2004. In addition, he played an active role in the management of the Faculty of Law of the Univerza v Ljubljani, serving in that faculty as Vice-Dean from 1995 to 2001 and, subsequently, as Dean from 2001 to 2004.
After passing the judicial service examination, Mr Ilešič became a judge and, subsequently, President of Chamber at the Sodišče združenega dela v Ljubljani (Labour Court, Ljubljana, Slovenia) from 1975 to 1986. An author of numerous publications, he was elected as President of the Union of Slovene Lawyers’ Associations in 1993, an office which he held until 2005.
A strong interest in sports law and in particular in football also led him to serve as President of the Sodišče združenega dela za telesno kulturo (Sports Tribunal of Slovenia) from 1978 to 1986 and as a judge on the Boards of Appeal of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). Furthermore, he took on managerial duties as President of the Nogometna zveza Slovenije (Football Association of Slovenia) from 1985 to 1989, as President of the Football Association of Yugoslavia between 1990 and 1991 and as a member of the Executive Board and, subsequently, as Vice-President of the Olympic Committee of Slovenia from 1991 to 2005.
Holding a particular interest in the practice of commercial law, he was President of the Arbitration Chamber of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange and an arbitrator at the Chamber of Commerce of Yugoslavia. He was then an arbitrator at the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia and at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.
Judge at the Court of Justice from 11 May 2004 to 20 June 2024, the date of his death.
Mr Marek Safjan was born in 1949 in Warsaw (Poland) and studied at the Uniwersytet Warszawski (University of Warsaw, Poland). He obtained his master’s degree in law in 1971 and defended his doctoral thesis in law in 1980. In 1990, he was awarded the title of Habilitated Doctor in Legal Science by that university then, in 1998, the title of Professor of Law.
He began his professional career also at the Uniwersytet Warszawski, teaching law from 1973 as an academic assistant at the Civil Law Institute. From 1991 to 1998, he taught there as a law professor and held the position of Director of the Civil Law Institute. He was the Vice-Rector of the University from 1994 to 1997.
He was an active contributor, through many publications, to legal research in the fields of civil law, medical law and European law, which led him to represent Poland from 1991 to 1997 on the Bioethics Committee of the Council of Europe and the Personal Data Protection Committee of the Council of Europe. Between 1994 and 1998, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Polish Section of the Henri Capitant Association of Friends of French Legal Culture.
Alongside his academic work, he held the position of Director of the Civil Law Department at the Instytut Wymiaru Sprawiedliwości (Law and Justice Institute, Poland) from 1992 to 1997.
He then began his career in the judiciary at the Trybunał Konstytucyjny (Constitutional Court, Poland): he was appointed as a judge in 1997, became President of that court in 1998 and held that position until 2006.
Judge at the Court from 7 October 2009 to 31 January 2024.
Born 1959 in Palermo (Italy), Giovanni Pitruzzella graduated in law from the Università degli Studi di Palermo (University of Palermo, Italy) in 1982. It was at that university that his activities as a researcher led him to teach constitutional law there from 1983 to 1986. He then lectured in constitutional law at the Università degli Studi di Cagliari (University of Cagliari, Italy), where he gave a course on public law from 1986 to 1997, and, subsequently, at the Università degli Studi di Palermo (University of Palermo, Italy). From 2014 to 2017, he taught in the field of constitutional and competition law at the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli (Free International University of Social Studies Guido Carli, Italy). He is an author of several reference works on public law, constitutional law, administrative law and competition law.
During his career, Mr Pitruzzella also performed a number of duties for public institutions. From 1993 to 1996, he was a legal adviser to the Italian Government, then President of the Commission for application of the special status of the Region of Sicily from 1998 to 2002.
Appointed as a member of the Commissione di garanzia del diritto di sciopero nei servizi pubblici essenziali (Commission for proper exercise of the right to strike in essential public services, Italy) in 2006, he was President of that commission from 2009 to 2011. Alongside those duties, he was a legal adviser to the Italian Ministry of Health from 2008 to 2011. Between 2011 and 2018, he was President of the Autorità garante della concorrenza e del mercato italiana (Italian Competition Authority).
In April 2013, Mr Pitruzzella was appointed as a member of the Commission for institutional reforms in the economic and social field. In June of that same year, he was invited to join the Commission for constitutional reforms as an expert.
Advocate General at the Court of Justice from 8 October 2018 to 14 November 2023.
Born in 1970; graduated in Law, University of Latvia (1993); postgraduate study of the American legal system, the law and politics of the European Communities and political science, University of Aarhus, Denmark (1993); Masters in International Law, University of Lund, Sweden (1994); Doctor of Law, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom (1999); parliamentary assistant, Parliament of the Republic of Latvia (1990-1992); consultant to the Foreign Affairs committee of the Republic of Latvia (1992-1995); university assistant in the Legal and Political Theory Department and the International Law and Law of the Sea Department, subsequently lecturer in International Law and European Law, founder and director of the Human Rights Institute, University of Latvia (1993-1999); Advisor to the Prime Minister of Latvia (1995); Advisor to the Human Rights Directorate General of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France (1999-2001); 'Söderberg' Professor, visiting professor and subsequently International Law and Human Rights Law professor, Riga Graduate School of Law, Latvia (since 2001); visiting professor, Raoul Wallenberg Institute, University of Lund (2001-2005); Judge and President of Chamber at the European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg (2005-2014); corresponding Member of the Academy of Science of Latvia (since 2017); author of numerous publications in the field of public international and national law; founder and member of the editorial board of the Baltic Yearbook of International Law; Judge at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia (2015-2020); President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia (2017-2020); Judge at the Court of Justice since 6 October 2020.
