|
Sponsored Links
The Court of Justice of the European Communities, usually called the European Court of Justice (ECJ), is the highest court in the European Union (EU). It has the ultimate say on matters of EU law in order to ensure equal application across the various European Union member states.[1] The body was established in 1952 and is based in Luxembourg City — unlike most other Union institutions which are based in Brussels. The court is composed of one judge per member state although only 13 of them hear a case at any one time in the 'Grand Chamber'. The court is led by a president, since 2003 this has been Vassilios Skouris.[1] The court is assisted by a lower court, the Court of First Instance, dealing with certain issues. Two other courts deal with other responsibilities, the Civil Service Tribunal over employees of the Union's institutions and Court of Auditors (an institution in its own right) over the Union's accounts.[1][2] It should not be confused with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which is part of the Council of Europe. The court was established in 1952, by the Treaty of Paris (1951), for the European Coal and Steel Community.[1] It was established with seven judges, considered an ideal number to allow for representation and an unequal number in case of a tie. One would be appointed from each member state and the seventh would be elected by representatives of the trade unions in the coal and steel industries. It became an institution when the Treaties of Rome established the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Although all three communities were separate, under the Convention of 25 March 1957 they shared some common institutions; these being the Parliamentary Assembly and the Court. It was with this that the Court of the ECSC became the Court of Justice of the European Communities.[3][4]
|
European Court Of Justice Subcategories
European Court Of Justice Articles
|
| 
