European Court of Justice - Explained
What is the European Court of Justice?
Written by J. Mance Gordon
Updated at April 21st, 2024
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What is the European Court of Justice?
European court of justice (ECJ), a body of the European Union (EU), is tasked to interpret EU law uniformly across all member countries and settle legal disputes between its member governments and other EU bodies. Moreover, in certain conditions, it allows individuals, association or institution to move against an EU establishment in the event that they feel it has infringed their rights.
How does the European Court of Justice Work?
The ECJ was formed in 1952 and is headquartered in Luxembourg. It is staffed by judges from every EU nation for a total of 47 judges (this will expand to 56 in 2019). There are 11 advocates general. The ECJ is divided into two courts:
- Court of Justice - This court manages demands for fundamental decisions from national courts.
- General Court - This court addresses the cases related to annulment or invalidation brought by people, organizations and, at times, EU governments. Practically, this implies this court addresses competition law, state law, exchange, horticulture, exchange marks.
Each judge and advocate general is selected for a 6-year term. In each Court, the judges select a President who serves renewable term of 3 years. Courts from EU member nations can apply EU law. If the court is in uncertain about the application or legitimacy of an EU law, it can approach the Court for Illumination. If an EU countrys law or court decisions violates fundamental rights or go against the EU treaties, the Court can be requested to repeal it by an EU government, the Council of the EU, the European Commission or (sometimes) the European Parliament.