Registry of the General Court
The Registry of the General Court ensures an efficient and effective administration of justice. It ensures the smooth running of judicial proceedings, from maintaining procedural documents to managing case files. It plays a key role in organising hearings, updating procedural databases, and facilitating communication between the General Court and the parties to a case.
What is the Registry of the General Court and what are its tasks?
The Registry of the General Court is the sole service of the General Court. It is composed of around 75 people, mainly allocated to three functional units, each led by a head of unit, all led by the Registrar, supported by a Deputy Registrar. Different sections of two units handle the case files in each of the 24 official EU languages. A third dedicated unit looks after the IT systems, archives and statistics.
The Registry has 3 main tasks:
- To communicate with parties and their representatives and with the Judges in cases before the General Court
- To ensure the smooth functioning of proceedings and maintain case files
- To provide active legal and technical assistance to the Judges of the General Court and their staff
The Registry plays a central role in ensuring that proceedings before the General Court run smoothly and that case files are properly managed. It acts as the point of contact between the parties’ representatives, national judges, the Court’s administrative services, and the chambers of the Members of the General Court. Throughout the judicial process, the Registry also provides active support to the Members and their teams.
The Registry keeps the official register of procedural documents and manages case files for proceedings before the General Court. It handles the receipt, transmission and storage of documents in accordance with the Statute and the Rules of Procedure, while maintaining correspondence with parties and third parties involved in pending cases. The Registry oversees the publication of the Court’s decisions and other materials, ensuring that all case files are properly archived.
Working closely with the chambers of the Members and other administrative services, the Registry organises the Court’s hearings. A representative of the Registry is present at each hearing to deal with any procedural issues and draft the minutes. They are also present during the delivery of opinions and judgments. The Registry also deals with requests for the translation of procedural documents into the language of deliberation and the language of the procedure, and carries out all the notifications that are necessary throughout the procedure.
Among its technical responsibilities, the Registry
- maintains the electronic storage system for procedural documents
- manages and updates procedural databases
- oversees the e-Curia application, which enables the secure electronic exchange of procedural documents between the Court and parties
- produces judicial statistics.
Who is the Registrar and what are their tasks?
The Registrar leads the Registry’s work.
In addition, the Registrar manages the administrative aspects of the General Court in close collaboration with the President of the General Court. They sit in every decisional body of the institution and liaises with the other services of the institution to ensure that the General Court has everything it needs to carry out its mission.
Among their responsibilities, the Registrar supports the Committee on the Rules of Procedure of the General Court. They contribute to the drafting and updating of procedural texts, as well as coordinating their translation and publication. They also take part in discussions with the Council’s “Court of Justice” working group and, when necessary, in meetings of the European Parliament – in particular when proposals to amend the Statute or Rules of Procedure are being considered.
Contacting the Registry of the General Court
In the context of pending cases, the Registry can be contacted using the means mentioned on the page Lodging documents at the General Court.
Requests concerning data protection in the context of closed cases can be addressed to the Court via post or email:
Registry of the General Court of the European Union
Rue du Fort Niedergrünewald
L-2925 Luxembourg
If you have questions about whether your case can be heard by the Court, please see Can I bring my case to the Court.
For any other questions please use our Contact form to get in touch with the Court.
