A | Introduction by the Registrar
Two decades have passed since ten new Member States joined the European Union, marking a historic moment in our institution’s journey.
Alfredo Calot Escobar
Registrar of the Court of Justice of the European Union
Two decades have passed since ten new Member States joined the European Union, marking a historic moment in our institution’s journey. It was a day of celebration but also a time of unprecedented challenges. Looking back, I can say with pride that we not only overcame these challenges but also grew stronger along the way.
Today, we find ourselves amid equally significant transformations within our institution.
The legislative procedure to partially transfer preliminary rulings to the General Court has been finalised. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the two courts and various services, all the necessary steps have been taken to ensure its seamless implementation.
This same spirit of collaboration and adaptability has also driven our efforts in another key area, that of digital transformation. Throughout the year, we have continued to advance our digital capabilities, actively developing AI‑driven projects, while aligning these initiatives with the requirements of the AI Act, which came into force this year. Recognising that human input remains essential for the effective deployment of AI tools, we launched a comprehensive, large‑scale AI training program. Furthermore, our legal translation services have taken the lead in reimagining workflows in a more advanced digital landscape, setting a benchmark for other services to follow.
As we strive to modernise and innovate, ensuring the security and resilience of our digital infrastructure has become equally vital. This year, the Cybersecurity Regulation came into force, introducing significant obligations for our institution, within a stringent timeline.
Even as we embrace innovation, our institution’s timeless ideals continue to steer our efforts. At the core of our success lies our greatest asset: a team of over 2,000 dedicated individuals from across the continent, working harmoniously every day to deliver justice. The true value of this collective effort lies in its diversity; by combining a wide range of perspectives, cultures, experiences, and talents, it strengthens our ability to fulfil our mission.
To retain and attract the best talent from all Member States, initiatives aimed at ensuring the attractiveness of our host country as a place to work have continued throughout the year. For the first time, we saw political recognition of the unique challenges faced by staff in Luxembourg compared to their colleagues in Brussels. In a far from straightforward procedure, the budgetary authorities granted our request for temporary housing allowance for colleagues in lower pay grades - a vital first step towards addressing this inequality.
Our commitment to diversity extends beyond our staff. In 2024, we took new initiatives, together with the European Judicial Training Network, to optimise the geographical balance of national justice professionals participating in the long‑term trainings at the Court. These efforts have delivered tangible results, with candidates from three new Member States submitting their applications for the first time in the program’s nearly twenty-year history.
This also demonstrates our longstanding commitment to strengthening the dialogue with national courts, a principle we have actively pursued throughout the year. Another significant step in advancing judicial dialogue has been taken by the Judicial Network of the European Union: the correspondents’ meeting was, for the first time, hosted outside the walls of our institution and co‑organised by the Belgian Conseil d’État. This brought a fresh perspective to the Network, reinforcing the fundamental idea that judicial dialogue, by its very essence, transcends institutional boundaries.
Alongside these external milestones, we have turned our focus inwards, reaffirming our commitment to the highest ethical standards that have always been an integral part of our identity. This year we consolidated these standards into a Code of Conduct applicable to all staff, aligning our principles with the high standards previously set for the Members.
Just as we met the challenges of enlargement twenty years ago with determination and a shared sense of purpose, I am confident that twenty years from now, we will look back on today’s transformations with equal pride. The challenges we face today allow us to embrace the forward-thinking developments that will chart our institution’s path into the future, while honouring the rich traditions that have shaped its past.
B | Key events of the year
Partial transfer of jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings
With the aim of enabling the EU judicature to deliver high‑quality justice within reasonable timeframes and to strike the best balance between the workload of the Court of Justice and that of the General Court, important amendments to the Statute and to the Rules of Procedure entered into force on 1 September 2024. The amendments to the Statute, proposed by the Court of Justice, were adopted by the European Parliament and by the Council of the European Union; the amendments to the Rules of Procedure were adopted by the Court of Justice and by the General Court, after approval had been given by the Council. Those amendments implement the partial transfer of the jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings to the General Court and modernise the procedures before the two courts.
Amendments to the Statute and their implementation
The amendments to the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union allow for the partial transfer of the jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings to the General Court with effect from 1 October 2024. The possibility to do so has existed since the Treaty of Nice signed in 2001 and returned to the agenda in the context of the 2015 reform of the judicial architecture of the European Union, in particular the doubling of the number of Judges of the General Court, which was completed in 2022.
The General Court exercises its jurisdiction to hear and determine requests for a preliminary ruling in clearly identifiable specific areas, which raise few questions of principle, and in relation to which there is a significant foundation of established case-law of the Court of the Justice to guide the General Court in the exercise of this new jurisdiction. Furthermore, the requests for a preliminary ruling in question should give rise to a sufficiently high number of references, such that their transfer to the General Court will lighten the workload of the Court of Justice in real terms.
The specific areas concerned are the common system of VAT, excise duties, the Customs Code, the tariff classification of goods, compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding or of delay or cancellation of transport services, and the system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading.
The division of competences between the Court of Justice and the General Court
The amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice lay down, first of all, the detailed rules for the initial processing of requests for a preliminary ruling in order to determine which court has jurisdiction to deal with them. Next, they introduce the provisions which are necessary to ensure that the requests that the General Court refers to the Court of Justice on the ground that they require a decision of principle likely to affect the unity or consistency of EU law are dealt with swiftly. Lastly, they lay down detailed rules for the online publication, within a reasonable time after the case is closed, of the written observations submitted in references for a preliminary ruling by the interested parties referred to in Article 23 of the Statute.
The amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the General Court lay down the procedures under which requests for a preliminary ruling transmitted to the General Court are dealt with by that court. In order to provide national courts and tribunals, as well as the interested parties referred to in Article 23 of the Statute, the same safeguards as are applied by the Court of Justice, the General Court has reproduced, in essence, the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice that are applicable to requests for a preliminary ruling, including those relating to the publication of the pleadings and written observations lodged by the interested parties.
Other far‑reaching amendments concern the structure and organisation of the General Court. They provide for the creation of an Intermediate Chamber of nine Judges, presided over by the Vice‑President of the General Court. Requests for a preliminary ruling will be assigned to Chambers sitting with five Judges that have special responsibility for hearing and determining such cases, but may also be referred to another formation for the matter to be heard and determined, depending on the importance of the questions referred.
The Judges called upon to perform the duties of an Advocate General in preliminary ruling cases (as well as those called upon to replace such Judges if they are prevented from acting) are elected by the General Court and assist the competent court formation in all preliminary ruling cases, mirroring the participation of Advocates General in proceedings before the Court of Justice.
The General Court has, furthermore, clarified the rules on the protection of personal data and on the methods of lodging and service of procedural documents in the context of requests for a preliminary ruling.
The scale of the amendments provided a timely opportunity for a recast of the Practice rules for the implementation of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court.
Other amendments to the Rules of Procedure
Further amendments seek to improve, simplify and modernise how cases are dealt with by the Court of Justice and the General Court, in the light of the experience gained during the health crisis. The most significant for the Court of Justice is the possibility – which is already available to the General Court – for the representatives of the parties to the proceedings or of the interested parties referred to in Article 23 of the Statute to participate in a hearing by videoconference, in compliance with the legal and technical requirements laid down in the Practice Directions to Parties. Furthermore, the General Court reviewed a series of provisions applicable to direct actions, including those relating to the confidential treatment of procedural documents, the modification of the application in the course of proceedings and the formal rules to be observed in connection with the lodging of procedural documents.
As regards, lastly, the broadcasting of hearings before the Court of Justice, which contributes to making justice more transparent and more accessible, a new provision clarifies the rules applicable to the broadcasting of hearings, the delivery of judgments and the reading of Opinions of the Advocates General. The General Court has, in turn, introduced essentially the same provisions.
Giulia Predonzani, attaché to the Registrar of the General Court
‘For running enthusiasts, the reform of the Statute may be comparable to the marathon in which every runner wants to take part one day … and which they have been thinking about for over twenty years. Several stages have to be covered in order to reach the finish line. Completing the reform of the judicial architecture of the Court of Justice of the European Union has given the General Court the resources and the structure to enable it to deal with requests for a preliminary ruling with the necessary speed. But we couldn’t stop there.
To run this marathon, the General Court also had to be kitted out with a suitable regulatory and practical framework. First of all, to take into account the involvement in preliminary ruling proceedings of national courts and tribunals and the interested parties referred to in Article 23 of the Statute, the General Court not only revised its Rules of Procedure and the Practice rules for their implementation, but also its decision on the use of the e‑Curia application and all the “soft law” documentation – aide‑mémoires, forms, information guides (redaction of data in judicial proceedings, model applications). Next, the General Court had to adopt decisions concerning the composition and the functioning of its Chambers and various formations, including the new Intermediate Chamber, and elect Advocates General to deal with requests for a preliminary ruling. Lastly, in order to establish new workflows, the General Court had to coordinate with its other “marathon” partners, in particular the Directorate‑General for Multilingualism, the Directorate for Information Technology and the Research and Documentation Directorate. One key stage was the creation of a “one‑stop shop”: an application that centralises the analysis of requests for a preliminary ruling that may be transmitted to the General Court. The productive dialogue with the Registry of the Court of Justice, a genuine institutional partner, was a valuable constant throughout the “training”.
Preparation, anticipation of needs, high‑intensity and high‑endurance work, all to an ambitious timetable. In October 2024, the staff at the General Court and its registry were ready and in the “starting blocks” to run this long‑awaited marathon! In late 2024, 23 case files passed through the “one‑stop shop” and 19 cases were ultimately transferred to the General Court. The race continues … and it’s going well!’
The 20th anniversary of the 2004 enlargement
On 1 May 2004, 10 new Member States joined the European Union: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. It was the largest enlargement of the EU to date, in terms both of the people involved and the number of countries.
Impact of the 2004 enlargement on the functioning of the courts
Of all the successive enlargements, the 2004 enlargement was the largest; it involved the integration, in one fell swoop, of 10 new judges appointed both to the Court of Justice and to the General Court.
The impact on the rules governing language arrangements at the Court of Justice of the European Union was significant. The number of official languages increased from 12 to 21, which led to an exponential increase in the number of language combinations, rising from 110 to 420.
A considerable volume of structural work was required to establish the new chambers and new language units, both in terms of real estate and recruitment, with the arrival of several hundred new colleagues in the space of one year.
The contribution by the Member States which acceded to the European Union in 2004 has proved to be substantial: in 20 years, almost 1 300 references for a preliminary ruling have been submitted by the courts of the 10 acceding Member States.
‘A new constitutional moment for Europe’
To celebrate this historic event, on 3 May 2024 the Court of Justice hosted a conference entitled ’20 years since the accession of 10 States to the European Union: A new constitutional moment for Europe’, which brought together judges and representatives from all EU Member States, to provide a forum for joint consideration of the Court’s contribution to the advancement of the European project and the contribution made by those 10 Member States to the common legal order.
The conference hosted on 3 May, the documents relating to which are published on the Court’s website, explored a number of topics, including:
- the accession process for new Member States after the fall of the Berlin Wall, which necessitated a fundamental shift in the legislation, mindsets and cultures of the peoples concerned;
- common European values and the contribution of the 2004 enlargement to the evolution of the European Union as a ‘Union of values’; and
- the convergence between the economies of the new Member States and the remainder of the EU.
The speakers’ presentations and the discussions with participants served in particular as a reminder that the European Union is unique, in that it is built upon shared values – with democracy and the rule of law uppermost – which it and its Member States must continue to defend.
Statement of Ineta Ziemele, Judge at the Court of Justice, chair of the working group for the organisation of the event
‘The main purpose of the conference marking the 20 years since the largest single enlargement of the European Union was to take stock of the impact and change that this enlargement has brought to the Union. It was considered the right moment to reflect and exchange experiences and lessons learned on how the Union has evolved and changed over the last 20 years following such a historical moment.
The EU Courts, in preparing the conference, proposed to see the 2004 enlargement as a constitutional moment – a paradigm shift – that united Eastern and Western Europe into a common constitutional project. The European Union spread its values and principles to parts of Europe with particularly complex histories, while the ten new Member States entered the EU with a strong determination and hope for freedom, justice and prosperity. Accession to the EU was a complex process, by no means evident, and the aspiring States put in an incredible amount of work and effort to meet the accession criteria (known as the Copenhagen criteria) first established by the Copenhagen European Council in 1993.
That day 20 years ago marked a fundamental change also for the Union in all its areas of competence. What exactly that change would be was not always easy to foresee, but it was evident that there was more potential for growth within its internal market, there was fascinating cultural, historical and linguistic diversity that opened up and accompanied future political and legal developments within the Union. The enlarged European Union became an even more important global actor.
Another unique feature of the conference was the fact that the EU Courts invited speakers from each State concerned who had been directly involved with the accession process or had been leading personalities with important roles in so far as membership of the State or the Union itself was concerned. The conference brought inter-disciplinarity into the reflections proposed by the EU Courts on this occasion.
A magnificent tour d’horizon on a particularly complex and often brutal history of these States by Professor Norman Davies concluded the conference. This was a necessary reminder that the values of the European Union cannot be taken for granted and that their sustainability and development require serious work from everyone in the Union. As we pondered the lessons, choir of the EU Courts sang songs in ten languages before concluding with Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ which continues to express the very ideal of the European Union – the human race becoming brothers.’
A stronger ethical framework for staff at the Court of Justice of the European Union
Due to the very nature of its mission, the Court of Justice of the European Union has always placed the highest demands on itself when it comes to independence, impartiality and integrity. Satisfying those demands, all of which are values upon which the Institution’s identity is based, is essential to guaranteeing not only confidence in European justice but also its own legitimacy. It is for this reason that the Court must ensure that it has an internal legal framework which reflects the highest ethical standards and, thereby, meets the expectations of excellence borne by a judicial institution.
The Court of Justice of the European Union has therefore always upheld rigorous ethical standards. The Members of the Institution (Judges, Advocates General and Registrars) and its entire staff are subject to such standards, even after they have left the Court.
Against a background of increasingly higher expectations of exemplary conduct on the part of the European civil service, the Court has chosen to continue modernising its internal arrangements in matters of ethics. This approach, launched back in 2021 with the amendment of the Code of Conduct for Members and former Members, is now being pursued with the adoption of a code of conduct for staff.
Accordingly, the rules already contained in the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS), as well as in a number of internal provisions, have been consolidated, supplemented and adjusted to judicial requirements to produce a single code of conduct for staff which, following its adoption by the Administrative Committee, entered into force on 1 March 2024.
Based on ethical rules drawn from a variety of existing sources, this code of conduct provides, in a single text, easy and clear access for all members of staff subject to those rules. With a view to providing transparency and legal certainty, the purpose of the code is to interpret those obligations, taking into account the specific aspects of the Court’s judicial role, and to clarify how they will be implemented. It follows an ethical approach, based on the values governing the Institution’s actions, which are reflected in exemplary standards of conduct. The code also includes specific rules for members of the Court’s senior management, in the light of their particular responsibilities, and for legal secretaries, given the position they hold vis‑à‑vis the Members of the Court of Justice and of the General Court and their direct involvement in judicial work. Those rules make clear that the duty of exemplary conduct is proportionate to the responsibilities assumed and set out in detail specific obligations in relation to avoiding conflicts of interest and pursuing external activities, even after ceasing to hold office.
C | Public relations
Remote visits – an educational programme
The aim of this remote educational programme is to enable secondary school students aged between 15 and 18 to learn about the work of the European Union’s judicial institutions from their classroom, without having to travel to Luxembourg. The programme is intended to raise awareness amongst the young students and their teachers about democratic values and current legal issues, and to explain to them the impact of the Court’s case-law on the daily lives of European citizens. In 2024, almost 1 300 students had the opportunity to visit the Court as part of this programme.
The Communications Directorate’s press officers, who are lawyers by training, have the task of making judgments, orders and legal opinions, as well as ongoing cases, easier to understand for journalists and correspondents in all the Member States. They draft press releases in real time to inform journalists and legal practitioners about the decisions of the Court of Justice and the General Court. They send out regular newsletters covering important procedural and institutional events to those who have requested them from the Court’s press office, as well as ‘info‑rapid’ bulletins on cases for which there are no press releases. In addition, they deal with emails and calls from citizens.
The Court maintains an active presence on social media via its two X accounts (one in French, the other in English), LinkedIn and Mastodon. The number of followers is constantly increasing, demonstrating the public’s interest in and engagement with the activity of the Court. The Court also has a YouTube channel providing access in the 24 official languages to a variety of audio‑visual content, including videos aimed at the general public to explain how the case‑law of the Court affects the daily lives of citizens.
In 2024, the Court published a new video: The division of competences between the Court of Justice and the General Court
Broadcasting of hearings
In order to facilitate access to its judicial activity, the Court offers a system for broadcasting hearings. The delivery of judgments and the reading of opinions of the Advocates General are broadcast live on the website, at the time indicated in the judicial calendar. Hearings of the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice involving oral pleadings are also broadcast with a delay.
The recordings remain available for one month.
Before hearings are broadcast, an explanatory briefing on the case is provided in the languages of the hearing and broadcast on the Court’s website and on social media. In 2024, a total of 29 briefings were broadcast.