General Court (European Union)

The General Court, informally known as the European General Court (EGC), is a constituent court of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It hears actions taken against the institutions of the European Union by individuals and member states, although certain matters are reserved for the European Court of Justice. Decisions of the General Court can be appealed to the Court of Justice, but only on a point of law. Prior to the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, it was known as the Court of First Instance.

Competence

The General Court hears disputes (such as those by persons who have been refused a trade mark by EUIPO, the EU Trade Mark and designs registry).

The creation of the General Court instituted a judicial system based on two levels of jurisdiction: all cases heard at first instance by the General Court may be subject to a right of appeal to the Court of Justice on points of law only.

In view of the increasing number of cases brought before the General Court in the last five years, to relieve it of some of the caseload, the Treaty of Nice, which entered into force on 1 February 2003, provides for the creation of 'judicial panels' in certain specific areas.

On 2 November 2004 the Council adopted a decision establishing the European Union Civil Service Tribunal. This new specialised tribunal, composed of seven judges, heard and determined at first instance disputes involving the European Civil Service. Its decisions were subject to a right of appeal before the General Court on points of law only. Decisions given by the General Court in this area might exceptionally be subject to review by the Court of Justice. The European Union Civil Service Tribunal was duly constituted into law on 2 December 2005. Despite the success in its mandate,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> it was dissolved on 1 September 2016,<ref name=TribunalDissolution>Template:Cite journal</ref> leading to the doubling of the number of judges at the General Court.<ref name=TribunalDissolution/>

Composition

Since February 2020 the General Court is composed of 54 Judges; this follows a 2016 reform which increased the number of judges to two per member state by 2019, and the departure of the UK from the EU at the end of January 2020. The Judges are appointed for a renewable term of six years by common accord of the governments of the Member States. Template:As of, there are 49 Judges in post: 23 member states have nominated both their judges, whilst Latvia, Poland, and Slovakia have nominated just one, and Slovenia has nominated neither.

The members of the General Court elect their president and the presidents of the Chambers of five Judges from among their number for a renewable period of three years.

There are no permanent Advocates General attached to the General Court (unlike the European Court of Justice, which has eleven Advocates General). However, the task of an Advocate General may be performed in a limited number of cases by a Judge nominated to do so. In practice this has been done occasionally.

List of presidents

Elected	Term ended	Judge
25 September 1989	18 September 1995	Template:Flagicon José Luís da Cruz Vilaça
18 September 1995	4 March 1998	Template:Flagicon Antonio Saggio
4 March 1998	17 September 2007	Template:Flagicon Bo Vesterdorf
17 September 2007	26 September 2019	Template:Flagicon Marc Jaeger
27 September 2019	Incumbent	Template:Flagicon Marc van der Woude

List of vice-presidents

Elected	Term ended	Judge
17 September 2013	19 September 2016	Template:Flagicon Heikki Kanninen
20 September 2016	26 September 2019	Template:Flagicon Marc van der Woude
27 September 2019	Incumbent	Template:Flagicon Savvas Papasavvas

List of judges

Name	Country	Elected	Current term ends	Other
Viktor Kreuschitz	Template:Flagicon Austria	2013	2022
Gerhard Hesse	Template:Flagicon Austria	2019	2022
Paul Nihoul	Template:Flagicon Belgium	2016	2022
Geert De Baere	Template:Flagicon Belgium	2017	2022
Mariyana Kancheva	Template:Flagicon Bulgaria	2011	2025<ref name=firsreappointandreappoint>Template:Cite web</ref>
Alexander Kornezov	Template:Flagicon Bulgaria	2016	2025<ref name=firsreappointandreappoint />	President of the Tenth Chamber
Vesna Tomljenović	Template:Flagicon Croatia	2013	2025<ref name=appointreappoint>Template:Cite web</ref>	President of the Second Chamber
Tamara Perišin	Template:Flagicon Croatia	2019	2025<ref name=appointreappoint />
Savvas Papasavvas	Template:Flagicon Cyprus	2004	2022	Vice-president of the General Court (2019–2022)
Anna Marcoulli	Template:Flagicon Cyprus	2016	2022	President of the Sixth Chamber
Petra Škvařilová-Pelzl	Template:Flagicon Czech Republic	2019	2025
David Petrlík	Template:Flagicon Czech Republic	2021	2025
Sten Frimodt Nielsen	Template:Flagicon Denmark	2007	2022
Jesper Svenningsen	Template:Flagicon Denmark	2016	2022	President of the Eighth Chamber
Lauri Madise	Template:Flagicon Estonia	2013	2022
Iko Nõmm	Template:Flagicon Estonia	2019<ref name=appointreappoint />	2022<ref name=appointreappoint />
Heikki Kanninen	Template:Flagicon Finland	2009	2022	President of the First Chamber Vice-president of the General Court (2013–2016)
Tuula Pynnä	Template:Flagicon Finland	2019<ref name=appointreappoint />	2022<ref name=appointreappoint />
Stéphane Gervasoni	Template:Flagicon France	2013	2025<ref name=firsreappointandreappoint />	President of the Fourth Chamber
Laurent Truchot	Template:Flagicon France	2019<ref name=firsreappointandreappoint />	2025<ref name=firsreappointandreappoint />	Judge (2007–2013)
Johannes Laitenberger	Template:Flagicon Germany	2019	2025
Gabriele Steinfatt	Template:Flagicon Germany	2019	2025<ref name=appointreappoint />
Dimitris Gratsias	Template:Flagicon Greece	2010	2022
Constantinos Iliopoulos	Template:Flagicon Greece	2016	2022
TBA	Template:Flagicon Hungary
Zoltán Csehi	Template:Flagicon Hungary	2016	2022
Suzanne Kingston	Template:Flagicon Ireland	2021	2025<ref name="December 2021 Appointments">Template:Cite web</ref>
Colm Mac Eochaidh	Template:Flagicon Ireland	2017	2025<ref name=appointreappoint />
Roberto Mastroianni	Template:Flagicon Italy	2019	2025
Ornella Porchia	Template:Flagicon Italy	2019	2025
TBA	Template:Flagicon Latvia
Inga Reine	Template:Flagicon Latvia	2016	2025<ref name=firsreappointandreappoint />
Rimvydas Norkus	Template:Flagicon Lithuania	2019	2025
Virgilijus Valančius	Template:Flagicon Lithuania	2016	2019*
Marc Jaeger	Template:Flagicon Luxembourg	1996	2022	President of the General Court (2007–2019)
Dean Spielmann	Template:Flagicon Luxembourg	2016	2022	President of the Fifth Chamber
Eugène Buttigieg	Template:Flagicon Malta	2012	2025
Ramona Frendo	Template:Flagicon Malta	2019	2025
Marc van der Woude	Template:Flagicon Netherlands	2010	2022	President of the General Court (2019–2022) Vice-president of the General Court (2016–2019)
René Barents	Template:Flagicon Netherlands	2016	2022
Krystyna Kowalik-Bańczyk	Template:Flagicon Poland	2016	2022
Nina Półtorak	Template:Flagicon Poland	2016	2016*
Ion Gâlea	Template:Flagicon Romania	2021	2022
Mirela Stancu	Template:Flagicon Romania	2019<ref name=firsreappointandreappoint />	2022<ref name=firsreappointandreappoint />
Ricardo Da Silva Passos	Template:Flagicon Portugal	2016	2022	President of the Seventh Chamber
Maria José Costeira	Template:Flagicon Portugal	2016	2022	President of the Ninth Chamber
Juraj Schwarcz	Template:Flagicon Slovakia	2009	2022
TBA	Template:Flagicon Slovakia
Maja Brkan	Template:Flagicon Slovenia	2021	2025<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Damjan Kukovec	Template:Flagicon Slovenia	TBA
José Martín y Pérez de Nanclares	Template:Flagicon Spain	2019	2025
Miguel Sampol Pucurull	Template:Flagicon Spain	2019	2025
Ulf Christophe Öberg	Template:Flagicon Sweden	2016	2025<ref name=firsreappointandreappoint />
Fredrik Schalin	Template:Flagicon Sweden	2016	2025<ref name=firsreappointandreappoint />

* Judge continues to hold the office until their successor takes up the duties according to the Article 5(3) of the Protocol No. 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the EU

List of former judges

Name	Country	Elected	Term ended	Ref.
Josef Azizi	Template:Flagicon Austria	19 January 1995	16 September 2013	<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
Koen Lenaerts	Template:Flagicon Belgium	25 September 1989	6 October 2003	<ref name=":1" />
Franklin Dehousse	Template:Flagicon Belgium	6 October 2003	19 September 2016	<ref name=":1" />
Teodor Tchipev	Template:Flagicon Bulgaria	12 January 2007	29 June 2010	<ref name="CURIA – Former Members" />
Irena Pelikánová	Template:Flagicon Czech Republic	12 May 2004	26 September 2019	<ref name=":1" />
Jan M. Passer	Template:Flagicon Czech Republic	19 September 2016	6 October 2020	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bo Versterdorf	Template:Flagicon Denmark	25 September 1989	17 September 2007	<ref name=":1" />
Küllike Jürimäe	Template:Flagicon Estonia	12 May 2004	23 October 2013	<ref name=":1" />
Virpi Tiili	Template:Flagicon Finland	8 January 1995	6 October 2009	<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
Jacques Biancarelli	Template:Flagicon France	25 September 1989	18 September 1995	<ref name=":1" />
André Potocki	Template:Flagicon France	18 September 1995	19 September 2001	<ref name=":1" />
Hubert Legal	Template:Flagicon France	19 September 2001	17 September 2007	<ref name=":1" />
Heinrich Kirschner	Template:Flagicon Germany	25 September 1989	6 February 1997	<ref name=":1" />
Jörg Pirrung	Template:Flagicon Germany	11 June 1997	17 September 2007	<ref name=":1" />
Alfred Dittrich	Template:Flagicon Germany	17 September 2007	26 September 2019	<ref name=":1" />
Christos G. Yeraris	Template:Flagicon Greece	25 September 1989	18 September 1992	<ref name=":1" />
Andreas Kalogerpoulos	Template:Flagicon Greece	18 September 1992	17 September 1998	<ref name=":1" />
Michail Vilaras	Template:Flagicon Greece	17 September 1998	25 October 2010	<ref name=":1" />
Ottó Czúcz	Template:Flagicon Hungary	12 May 2004	19 September 2016	<ref name=":1" />
Barna Berke	Template:Flagicon Hungary	19 September 2016	2 August 2021	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Donal Barrington	Template:Flagicon Ireland	25 September 1989	10 January 1996	<ref name=":1" />
John Cooke	Template:Flagicon Ireland	10 January 1996	15 September 2008	<ref name=":1" />
Kevin O'Higgins	Template:Flagicon Ireland	15 September 2008	16 September 2013	<ref name=":1" />
Anthony M. Collins	Template:Flagicon Ireland	16 September 2013<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	7 October 2021<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Antonio Saggio	Template:Flagicon Italy	25 September 1989	4 March 1998	<ref name=":1" />
Paolo Mengozzi	Template:Flagicon Italy	4 March 1998	3 May 2006	<ref name=":1" />
Enzo Moavero Milanesi	Template:Flagicon Italy	3 May 2006	15 November 2011	<ref name=":1" />
Guido Berardis	Template:Flagicon Italy	17 September 2012	31 August 2019	<ref name=":1" />
Ezio Perillo	Template:Flagicon Italy	19 September 2016	26 September 2019	<ref name=":1" />
Ingrida Labucka	Template:Flagicon Latvia	12 May 2004	25 February 2020
Vilenas Vadapalas	Template:Flagicon Lithuania	12 May 2004	16 September 2013	<ref name=":1" />
Egidijus Bieliūnas	Template:Flagicon Lithuania	16 September 2013	26 September 2019	<ref name=":1" />
Romain Schintgen	Template:Flagicon Luxembourg	25 September 1989	11 July 1996	<ref name=":1" />
Ena Cremona	Template:Flagicon Malta	12 May 2004	22 March 2012	<ref name="CURIA – Former Members" />
Peter George Xuereb	Template:Flagicon Malta	6 June 2016	8 October 2018	<ref name=":1" />
Cornelis Paulus Briët	Template:Flagicon Netherlands	25 September 1989	17 September 1998	<ref name=":1" />
Arjen Meij	Template:Flagicon Netherlands	17 September 1998	13 September 2010	<ref name="CURIA – Former Members">Template:Cite web</ref>
Irena Wiszniewska-Bialecka	Template:Flagicon Poland	15 May 2004	19 September 2016	<ref name=":0" />
Nina Półtorak	Template:Flagicon Poland	13 April 2016	31 August 2016	<ref name=":0" />
José Luis Da Cruz Vilaça	Template:Flagicon Portugal	25 September 1989	18 September 1995	<ref name=":0" />
Rui Manuel Gens De Moura Ramos	Template:Flagicon Portugal	19 September 1995	31 March 2003	<ref name=":0" />
Maria Eguénia Martins De Nazaré Ribeiro	Template:Flagicon Portugal	31 March 2003	19 September 2016	<ref name=":0" />
Valeriu M. Ciuca	Template:Flagicon Romania	12 January 2007	26 November 2010	<ref name="CURIA – Former Members"/>
Andrei Popescu	Template:Flagicon Romania	26 November 2010	19 September 2016	<ref name=":0" />
Octavia Spineanu-Matei	Template:Flagicon Romania	19 September 2016	7 October 2021	<ref name="CURIA – Former Members" />
Daniel Šváby	Template:Flagicon Slovakia	21 May 2004	6 October 2010	<ref name="CURIA – Former Members" />
Verica Trstenjak	Template:Flagicon Slovenia	7 July 2004	6 October 2006	<ref name=":0" />
Miro Prek	Template:Flagicon Slovenia	6 October 2006	26 September 2019	<ref name=":0" />
Rafael Garcia-Valdecasas Y Fernández	Template:Flagicon Spain	25 September 1989	17 September 2007	<ref name=":1" />
Santiago Soldevila Fragoso	Template:Flagicon Spain	17 September 2007	16 September 2013	<ref name=":1" />
Ignacio Ulloa Rubio	Template:Flagicon Spain	16 September 2013	26 September 2019	<ref name=":1" />
Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo Ibáñez-Martín	Template:Flagicon Spain	13 April 2016	26 September 2019	<ref name=":1" />
Pernilla Lindh	Template:Flagicon Sweden	18 January 1995	6 October 2006	<ref name=":0" />
Nils Wahl	Template:Flagicon Sweden	6 October 2006	28 November 2012	<ref name=":0" />
Carl Wetter	Template:Flagicon Sweden	18 March 2013	19 September 2016	<ref name=":0" />
Former Member State
David A. O. Edward	Template:Flagicon United Kingdom	25 September 1989	10 March 1992	<ref name=":0" />
Christopher William Bellamy	Template:Flagicon United Kingdom	10 March 1992	15 December 1999	<ref name=":0" />
Nicholas James Forwood	Template:Flagicon United Kingdom	15 December 1999	7 October 2015	<ref name=":0" />
Ian Stewart Forrester	Template:Flagicon United Kingdom	1 October 2015	31 January 2020

List of registrars

Elected	Term ended	Judge
27 September 1989	6 October 2005	Template:FlagiconTemplate:Flagicon Hans Jung
6 October 2005	30 April 2023	Template:FlagiconTemplate:Flagicon Emmanuel Coulon
5 June 2023	Incumbent	Template:FlagiconTemplate:Flagicon Vittorio Di Bucci

Jurisdiction

The General Court, like the Court of Justice, has the task of ensuring that the law is observed in the interpretation and application of the Treaties of the European Union and the provisions adopted by the competent Union institutions.

To fulfil its main task, the General Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine at first instance all direct actions brought by individuals and the Member States, with the exception of those to be assigned to a 'judicial panel' and those reserved for the Court of Justice.

Categories of direct actions

• Actions for annulment

(against acts of the Union institutions)

• Actions for failure to act

(against inaction by the Union institutions)

• Actions for damages

(for the reparation of damage caused by unlawful conduct on the part of a Union institution)

• Actions based on an arbitration clause

(disputes concerning contracts in public or private law entered into by the Union, containing such a clause)

• Actions concerning the civil service (disputes between the Union and its officials and other servants) – from 2005 to 2016 these cases were transferred to the European Union Civil Service Tribunal, but returned to the General Court when its size was doubled

Subject-matter of direct actions: all matters, including:

• agriculture
• State aid
• competition
• commercial policy
• regional policy
• social policy
• institutional law
• trade mark and design right law
• transport

Procedure

The General Court has its own Rules of Procedure. The 1991 rules were replaced by revised Rules of Procedure which came into effect on 1 July 2015.<ref>General Court of the European Union, New procedural rules adopted by the General Court, Press Release 73/15, published 19 June 2015, accessed 15 November 2022</ref> In the main, the Court's procedure includes a written phase and an oral phase. The proceedings are conducted in a language at the petitioner's choosing. As in the European Court of Justice, the working language of the Court is nevertheless French, and this includes the language the judges deliberate in and the drafting language of preliminary reports and judgments.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Court is separated into 9 divisions (called 'chambers') sat by 3-judge benches, except for the 7th division whose bench is sat by 4 judges. Each chamber has an extended composition of 5 judges. Cases are assigned by the President of the Court to a relevant divisional presiding judge. The presiding judge assigned to the case then chooses a judge-reporter (judge-rapporteur) from the judges of the division, whose clerks write a preliminary report (rapport préalable) based on the parties' pleadings and applicable law.

At the close of the written phase and, as the case may be, on adoption of measures of inquiry, the case is argued orally in open court. The proceedings are interpreted simultaneously, if necessary, into various official languages of the European Union. The judges then deliberate based on a draft judgment prepared by the judge-reporter. The Court's final judgment is handed down in open court.

External links

• Template:Official website