1. Court of Justice of the European Communities̶
Organization, procedures and documentation
Zagreb, 27th October 2008

2. The Court of Justice of the European Communities
One institution:
The Court of Justice of the European Communities
3 Courts:
The Court of Justice (ECJ)
The Court of First Instance (CFI)
The Civil Service Tribunal

3. 27 Judges and 8 Advocates General:
Composition of the ECJ
27 Judges and 8 Advocates General:
Appointed by common accord by the governments of the Member States
Renewable term of six years
Nomination of the President:
Elected by the Judges of the Court among one of themselves
Renewable term of three years
Vassilios Skouris
The Registrar
Full Court, Grand Chamber and Chambers of three or five judges
Proceedings before the Court

4. Procedure before the ECJ: Written procedure (Lodging and preparation of the case for judgment Documents in the written part are not made public)
Document available:
Notice for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (Series C)
Content:
Official publication of the questions referred for a preliminary ruling, or the forms of order sought, pleas and main arguments of the application (direct actions)
Time when available:
6 to 8 weeks after the action was brought before the Court
Languages:
All the official languages of the European Union
Access:
Internet:
databases (e.g. EUR-Lex via the site
Official Journal of the European Union

5. Procedure before the ECJ: Oral procedure (Hearing and delivery of the opinion of the Advocate General)
Document available:
Report for the hearing
(unless there is no hearing in the case)
Content:
Document drawn up by the Judge-Rapporteur with the important points of the case
Time when available:
The day of the hearing
Languages:
Only in the language of the case (for example, that of the applicant, the State concerned, or the court making the reference) and French
Access:
Press and Information of the Court, on request
Outside the courtroom (Court building)
Document available:
Opinion of the Advocate General
(unless the case raises no new legal issue)
Content:
Presentation to the Court of a reasoned proposal for a decision
Time when available:
The day of delivery at the sitting
Languages:
language of the Advocate General,
French,
language of the case,
translation into all the other official languages of the European Union at the latest for publication of the judgment in the European Court Reports (*)
Access:
Internet:
European Court Reports
(opinion published with the judgment some months after delivery) (*)
Press and Information of the Court
databases (e.g. EUR-Lex via the site

6. Procedure before the ECJ: Deliberation
Document available:
Judgment or order
Content:
Full text of the judgment or order
Time when available:
Judgments: the day of delivery
Orders: after notification to the parties
Languages:
Judgments published in the European Court Reports:
all the official languages of the European Union (*)
Judgments and orders not published in the European Court Reports: language of the case and French (*)
Access:
Internet:
European Court Reports (some months after delivery) (*)
Press and Information of the Court, on request
outside the courtroom (Court building), after delivery
databases (e.g. EUR-Lex via the site
the operative part is published in the Official Journal of the European Union

7. Procedure before the ECJ
(*) As from May 2004, unless decided otherwise, the following are not published in the European Court Reports:
judgments in direct actions and appeals delivered by chambers composed of three judges and the respective opinion
judgments delivered by chambers composed of five judges in direct actions and appeals where there is no opinion
orders, irrespective of the composition of the Court
Judgments and orders which are not published in the European
Court Reports are available on the Court’s Internet site
( in the languages stated

8. Nomination of the President:
Composition of the CFI
27 Judges:
Appointed by common accord by the governments of the Member States
Renewable term of six years
Nomination of the President:
Elected by the Judges of the Court among one of themselves
Renewable term of three years
Marc Jaeger
The Registrar
Full Court, Grand Chamber, Chambers of three or five judges and single judge
Proceedings before the CFI

9. Procedure before the CFI: Written procedure (Lodging and preparation of the case for judgment Documents in the written part are not made public)
Document available:
Notice of the action in the Official Journal of the European Union (Series C)
Content:
Publication of the forms of order sought, pleas in law and main arguments of the application
Time when available:
6 to 8 weeks after the action was brought before the Court
Languages:
All the official languages of the European Union
Access:
Internet:
databases (e.g. EUR-Lex via the site
Official Journal of the European Union

10. Procedure before the CFI: Oral procedure (Hearing)
Document available:
Report for the hearing
Content:
Document drawn up by the Judge-Rapporteur with the important points of the case
Time when available:
The day of the hearing
Languages:
Only in the language of the case and French
Access:
Press and Information of the Court, on request
Outside the courtroom (Court building)

11. Procedure before the CFI: Deliberation
Document available:
Judgment or order
Content:
Full text of the judgment or order
Time when available:
Judgments: the day of delivery
Orders: after service to the parties
Languages:
Judgments and orders published in the European Court Reports:
all the official languages of the European Union (*)
Judgments and orders not published in the European Court Reports: language of the case and French (*)
Access:
Internet:
European Court Reports (some months after delivery) (*)
Press and Information of the Court, on request
outside the courtroom (Court building), after delivery
databases (e.g. EUR-Lex via the site
the operative part is published in the Official Journal of the European Union

12. Procedure before the CFI
(*) Since 1st September 2005, judgments and orders which are not published in full in the ECR have been published on the Court’s Internet site ( in the available languages

13. Composition of the Civil Service Tribunal
7 Judges:
Appointed by the Council, acting unanimously
Renewable term of six years
Nomination of the President:
Elected by the Judges of the Court among one of themselves
Renewable term of three years
Paul J. Mahoney
The Registrar
Full Court, Chambers of three or five judges
Proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal

14. Procedure before the Civil Service Tribunal: Written procedure (Lodging and preparation of the case for judgment Documents in the written part are not made public)
Document available:
Notice of the action in the Official Journal of the European Union (Series C)
Content:
Official publication of the subject-matter of the application and the forms of order sought
Time when available:
approximatively 6 to 8 weeks after the action was brought before the Court
Languages:
All the official languages of the European Union
Access:
Internet:
databases (e.g. EUR-Lex via the site
Official Journal of the European Union

15. Procedure before the Civil Service Tribunal: Oral procedure (Hearing)
Document available:
Preparatory report for the hearing
Content:
Document drawn up by the Judge-Rapporteur containing the essential elements of the case and indicating, where appropriate, the points on which the parties are to focus their arguments
Time when available:
The day of the hearing
Languages:
Only in the language of the case and French
Access:
Press and Information of the Court, on request
Outside the courtroom (Court building)

16. Procedure before the Civil Service Tribunal: Deliberation
Document available:
Judgment or order
Content:
Full text of the judgment or order
Time when available:
Judgments: the day of delivery
Orders: after service to the parties
Languages:
Judgments and orders published in the European Court Reports:
language of the case and French
Access:
Internet:
European Court Reports (some months after delivery)
Press and Information of the Court, on request
outside the courtroom (Court building), after delivery
databases (e.g. EUR-Lex via the site
the operative part is published in the Official Journal of the European Union