Historical archives
The Historical Archives of the European Union, including the archives of the Court of Justice of the European Union, are accessible to the public. They are based at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. You can request access to the archives by contacting the EUI.
Under rules adopted in 1983, 2003 and 2015, the EU institutions must have historical archives that are open to the public.
As a result of a decision made by the Court in 2014, the Court’s archives are based at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy. Here, they are available to EU citizens, including university researchers and historians.
For more information on accessing the archives, see the EUI’s webpage on the Historical Archives of the European Union.
What documents are included?
The Historical Archives contain documents produced or received by the EU institutions in the course of their work, as long as
- they have been chosen to be kept permanently
- they are over 30 years old
The Court has decided to grant access not only to the administrative documents but also to the judicial archives. All accessible materials are catalogued in the inventory of the Historical Archives of the European Union.
However, access to the archives is not automatic: all access requests are subject to prior examination.
Requesting access
To request access to one or more files from the Historical Archives, please email archiv@eui.eu.
This request will be carefully examined, considering, for example
- the right to the protection of privacy
- commercial interests
- the secrecy of deliberations
As a result, the time taken to process the request might vary, depending on the complexity or size of the file.
Consulting the archives
If granted access, you can consult the documents at the EUI in Florence or through the online database, free of charge.
For more information on the arrangements for consultation, see the decision made by the Court in 2014.
Information and contact
If you have any further questions, you can email the department at the Court that is responsible for managing the historical archives at Curia-archives-historiques@curia.europa.eu.
