2022 at a glance

A | The year in pictures

JANUARY

70^th anniversary of the Court of Justice of the European Union

The Court launches the celebrations for its 70th anniversary. The events taking place throughout the year are themed around ‘Bringing justice closer to the citizen’. Each week on Mastodon and Twitter, the Court looks back at the milestone events of its 70 years of existence.
#CJUEen70jours #CJEUin70days

MARCH

Introduction of the electronic signature

Accelerating digitalisation, the qualified electronic signature is used to sign judgments and orders of the General Court.

MARCH

Action brought before the Court of Justice in RT France v Council

Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the sanctions adopted against Russia by the Council of the European Union, the RT France channel challenges the broadcasting ban imposed on it before the General Court (T‑125/22).

MARCH

Action brought before the General Court in Hamoudi v Frontex

A Syrian national seeks damages from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) for that agency’s unlawful conduct in the context of a ‘pushback’ operation in the Aegean Sea on 28 and 29 April 2020 (T‑136/22).

APRIL

Actions brought before the General Court in Pologne v Commission

Poland challenges before the General Court the recovery initiated by the Commission in respect of the daily penalty payment of EUR 500 000 ordered by the Court of Justice (C‑121/21 R) in the case concerning extraction of lignite from the ‘Turów mines’ (T‑200/22 and T‑314/22).

APRIL

Streaming of hearings of the Court of Justice

The Court of Justice launches a streaming service for hearings, the delivery of judgments and the reading of Opinions, allowing everyone to attend a sitting regardless of their location.

MAY

Request for a preliminary ruling lodged in Tez Tour

Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lietuvos Aukščiausiasis Teismas (Supreme Court, Lithuania) asks the Court of Justice to interpret the Directive on package travel and linked travel arrangements, with a view to clarifying the conditions for termination of a package travel contract without paying fees (C‑299/22).

MAY

Final of the ‘European Law Moot Court’ competition

First organised in 1988, the European Law Moot Court is the world’s top moot competition in the field of EU law. The University of Lund (Sweden) is the winning team of the 2022 edition.

MAY

Europe Day

To celebrate the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, the Court welcomes citizens in Esch-sur-Alzette, the 2022 European Capital of Culture. In the streets of the European Village, teams of volunteers from the Court gather to listen to citizens and answer their questions. The campaign is also covered on social media such as EU Voice and Twitter, with publications containing the hashtags #ECJDidYouKnow about the life of a case and #AskCuria, disseminated in response to questions put by citizens.

MAY

Official visit to Croatia by a delegation from the Court

The Members of the Court of Justice meet the Croatian Prime Minister, members of the Croatian government and the presidents of the Croatian Supreme Court and Constitutional Court. At a conference in Zagreb, they address judicial cooperation, the preliminary reference procedure, the role of the highest courts in safeguarding the uniformity of the law, unfair terms in consumer contracts and the European arrest warrant.

JUNE

Tribute to judges G. Falcone and P. Borsellino

On the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of the deaths of the Italian anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino and as a tribute to all those who defend the rule of law, the Court hosts a special performance of the Claudio Fava play L’Ultima estate – Falcone e Borsellino trent’anni dopo in its Main Courtroom.

JUNE

Interinstitutional Innovation Days

The Court welcomes the Interinstitutional Committee for Digital Transformation (ICDT): the top officials at the EU institutions in the fields of technology and information discuss issues of digital sovereignty, sharing of digital resources, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

JUNE

Visit of H.E. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, President of the Hellenic Republic

The President and Members of the Court welcome Her Excellency Katerina Sakellaropoulou, President of the Hellenic Republic to a working session. She attends a general presentation on the Institution and on multilingualism.

JULY

Meeting of the Judicial Network of the European Union (RJUE)

The members of the Judicial Network of the European Union, intended to promote dialogue between the supreme and constitutional courts of the Member States, meet to have discussions, in particular on the theme of ‘Bringing justice closer to the citizen’.

JULY

Request for a preliminary ruling lodged in RTL Nederland and RTL Nieuws

The Ministry of Justice and Security of the Netherlands refuses, on grounds of confidentiality, to provide access to information about the downing of flight MH17 (shot down over Ukraine in 2014) to the media outlet RTL Nederland. The Raad van State (Council of State, Netherlands) asks the Court of Justice whether that refusal is compatible with the freedom of expression and information (C‑451/22).

SEPTEMBER

The Court’s response to the health crisis

In its audit report, the European Court of Auditors commends the Court’s resilience shown during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Institution reacted with speed and flexibility by relying on prior investments in the digital transformation.

SEPTEMBER

Court’s visit to Rome

Members of the Court of Justice and the Italian Constitutional Court meet in Rome to discuss topics such as national identity, the equality of Member States before the Treaties, the rule of law and judicial independence, and the primacy of EU law.

SEPTEMBER

Election of the President, Vice-President and Presidents of the Chambers of the General Court and partial renewal of the Court

On the occasion of the partial renewal of the General Court, Marc van der Woude (Netherlands) is re-elected President of the General Court by his peers for three years. Savvas S. Papasavvas (Cyprus) is also re-elected Vice-President of the General Court. The judges of the General Court also elect from amongst themselves ten Presidents of the Chambers for a three-year term.

SEPTEMBER

Request for a preliminary ruling lodged in Bundesamt für Fremdenwesen und Asyl

The Verwaltungsgerichtshof (Federal Administrative Court, Austria) asks whether the situation of women in Afghanistan, following the Taliban’s seizure of power, constitutes persecution granting entitlement to refugee status (C‑608/22).

OCTOBER

Open Day

With a view to raising public awareness of the role of the Court and the values of the European Union, citizens are welcomed by staff and Members of the Court as part of the Open Day. Citizens learn about the Institution and how it functions, as well as about the life of a case and the work of the various departments.

NOVEMBER

Presentation ceremony for the stamp commemorating 70 years of the Court

In collaboration with the Court, the Luxembourg postal service issues a commemorative stamp to mark the 70^th anniversary of the Institution. This initiative is part of a long tradition of celebrating important anniversaries of the Court.

NOVEMBER

Visit to the Court by a delegation from the Supreme Court of Ukraine

The Court welcomes a delegation from the Supreme Court of Ukraine as part of the procedure for the country’s accession to the European Union; Ukraine has held accession candidate status since June 2022. The purpose of this meeting is to establish cooperation between the two courts, particularly in relation to the fundamental values of the European Union.

DECEMBER

Special Meeting of Judges

As part of this annual event, the Court organises a Special Forum, the main invitees to which are the presidents of the superior courts of the Member States, the Presidents of the ECtHR and the EFTA Court and former Members of the Court. Dedicated to the theme of ‘Bringing justice closer to the citizen’, the Forum begins with the presentation of a short film tracing the history of the Court, featuring archive footage, contributions from Members of the Institution and interviews with law professors.

DECEMBER

Formal hearing for the 70^th anniversary

The Court invites the highest Luxembourg authorities, senior officials of the institutions of the European Union and the attendees of the Meeting of Judges to the formal hearing, which is broadcast live, to commemorate 70 years of the formal hearing for installing the Court of Justice of the European Coal and Steel Community.

DECEMBER

‘Bâtisseurs d’Europe’ (Builders of Europe) Conference

The celebrations conclude with an interactive meeting between secondary school students from various Member States, attending in person or participating remotely via videoconferencing, and senior officials of the European institutions.

B | The year in figures

The Institution in 2022

The judicial year (Court of Justice and General Court)

e-Curia : An application for the exchange of legal documents with the Court
Watch the video on YouTube

The linguistic services

As a multilingual judicial institution, the Court must be able to deal with a case irrespective of the official language of the European Union in which it has been brought. It then ensures that its case-law is disseminated in all those languages.

Multilingualism at the Court of Justice of the EU – Ensuring equal access to justice
Watch the video on YouTube