The Court of Justice of the European Union, upholding European Union law
- The Court of Justice of the European Union is one of seven European institutions.
- It is the judicial institution of the European Union and its task is to ensure compliance with EU law by overseeing the uniform interpretation and application of the Treaties and ensuring the lawfulness of measures adopted by the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies.
- The Institution helps to preserve the values of the European Union and, through its case-law, works towards the building of Europe.
- The Court of Justice of the European Union comprises two courts: the Court of Justice and the General Court.
Introduction by the President
In a geopolitical context in which the ideal of peace is under ever greater threat, our institution stands as a beacon of stability in the performance of its mission to uphold justice, the rule of law, democratic values and fundamental rights.
Koen Lenaerts
President of the Court of Justice of the European Union
2023 was a turbulent year internationally, shaped by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the emergence of a new armed conflict in the Middle East. In a geopolitical context in which the ideal of peace is under ever greater threat, our institution stands as a beacon of stability in the performance of its mission to uphold justice, the rule of law, democratic values and fundamental rights. Through their case-law, the Court of Justice and the General Court have continued to work to protect those values and rights, underscoring that they are key to the Union’s very identity as the common legal system of the Member States.
Over the past year, the Court has maintained the in-depth dialogue that it has with the national courts, and with the constitutional and supreme courts in particular, including within the framework of a number of meetings organised within the Institution itself. In September, the second in the series of ‘EUnited in Diversity’ conferences also took place in The Hague, bringing together many representatives of those constitutional and supreme courts as well as Members of the European Court of Human Rights, with the involvement of Members of the Court of Justice, covering issues relating to the rule of law, the constitutional diversity of the Member States and the uniform application of EU law. As every year, the Meeting of National Judges provided an opportunity for fruitful discussions between Members of the Institution and members of the national courts, encouraging a better understanding of the special features of the national legal systems and of the EU legal order. It is within that framework which fosters such exchanges, and in a spirit of listening and open-mindedness, that we have been pursuing a dialogue with national courts that began over 70 years ago.
Umberto Eco was fond of saying that ‘the language of Europe is translation’. Since its very beginning, our institution has demonstrated its deep commitment to multilingualism, which allows every individual to initiate proceedings in one of the 24 official languages of their choice and enables every citizen to access a large proportion of the Institution’s judicial decisions in those different languages. In order to continue to promote such linguistic diversity and every citizen’s access to justice in the Union in his or her own language, the Court has led many programmes highlighting the importance of multilingualism in the building of Europe.
Lastly, our Institution has taken steps to usher in a new era, drawing up the blueprint for how the Courts of the European Union will operate going forward. 2023 marked the completion of in-depth consultations and discussions conducted by the European Union’s two courts in recent years about the partial transfer of jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings from the Court of Justice to the General Court, an option afforded by the Treaty of Nice since 2003. Given the increase in proceedings brought before the Court of Justice, it is necessary to ensure a better distribution of the workload between the two courts, whilst at the same time providing the best service to individuals. A political agreement was struck on that reform project in late 2023 as part of the ‘quadrilogue’, which is a four-institution forum for discussion, bringing together representatives of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and the Court. That agreement, the detailed rules and procedures for which remain to be implemented in the rules of procedure of both courts, is a sign of the confidence inspired by the General Court, the operational capacity of which has doubled in recent years. This marks a significant step forward on the road to reforming the architecture of the judicial system which began in 2016.
The dedication of the Members of the two courts and of all their staff has meant that the Institution has been able, on a day-to-day basis, to work towards strengthening the European integration project, which, in the course of 2024, will be at the heart of the events commemorating the 20th anniversary of the EU’s major enlargement in 2004.
