[15/03/2022] 

Much like other institutions of the European Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union has been forced to make changes to its working arrangements since March 2020 due to the health crisis that arose in the wake of the appearance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The pandemic nature of the virus led the Court of Justice and the General Court to take the strictest of sanitary measures with a view to protecting the health of all those required to be present on the premises of the institution and to put in place various arrangements concerning the written phase and oral phase of proceedings, in particular by giving parties’ representatives the option to attend hearings by videoconference.

Improvements in the health situation mean that, presently, in accordance with the decisions taken by the Luxembourg authorities, the situation can begin to return to normal and, in particular, hearings are to resume under conditions similar to those that existed before the beginning of the health crisis. This means, inter alia, that:

• Gowns must now be worn and the practice of making gowns available to parties’ representatives without their own gowns who are required to plead before the Court of Justice and the General Court is to resume;
• Members of the formation of the Court and, where appropriate, the Advocate General hearing the case will once again meet with agents and lawyers before hearings;
• Orals submissions, answers to questions and any replies must now be given standing, in front of the lectern, rather than from one’s seat; and
• It is no longer obligatory to wear a mask during hearings.

It is still possible to attend hearings via videoconference. However, a request explaining in detail why the party representative concerned is prevented from attending the hearing in person must still be submitted and all of the technical conditions required to attend via videoconference must be met.

Parties’ representatives who have a text or written outline of their oral submissions are requested to send it, for the benefit of the interpretation services, before midday on the working day prior to the day of the hearing, to the following address: Interpretation@curia.europa.eu.