1. THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE

2. Structure
The Court is the judicial arm of the EU, is headquartered in Luxembourg, and is primarily supranational in character. It has five key components:
The judges.
A president.
Advocates-general.
A General Court.
The EU Civil Service Tribunal.
The Court is the judicial authority of the EU, charged with making sure that the laws and actions of governments, government officials, member states, corporations, and other institutions fit with the terms and the spirit of the treaties.

3. Judges and President
The Court is headed by 28 judges, each appointed for renewable six-year terms of office, with each member state having control over one appointment.
The rate of turnover is relatively high, which has both advantages and disadvantages compared to – for example – lifetime appointments.
Judges rarely meet as a full court; they more often meet as chambers of three or five, or as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges.
The Court is headed by a president elected from among its judges for renewable three-year terms. The president presides over meetings of the Court and is responsible for organizational matters.

4. Other Elements
The Court is assisted by nine advocates-general appointed for renewable six-year terms and charged with reviewing cases, studying arguments, and delivering opinions.
It is further assisted by lower 28-member General Court (created in 1989 as the Court of First Instance), which hears less complicated cases in selected areas.
A seven-member EU Civil Service Tribunal hears disputes between EU institutions and their staff.

5. Court Functions
The Court is the supreme legal body of the EU and the final court of appeal on all matters relating to EU law.
It issues preliminary rulings when national courts ask for a ruling on the interpretation of validity of an EU law that arises in a national court case.
Makes decisions on direct actions when an individual, corporation, member state or EU institution brings proceedings directly before the Court, usually with an EU institution or a member state as defendant.

6. Eur. Court of Human Rights
Although it is an independent institution, the work of the Strasbourg-based ECHR has an important bearing on EU law.
It was established under the terms of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights, which was introduced to promote the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The court became a permanent institution in 1998.
The ECHR consists of 47 judges, one from each of the member states of the Council of Europe.
Judges are appointed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for renewable six-year terms.