PURPOSE: to amend Protocol No 3 of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union bearing in mind the progressive expansion of its jurisdiction since its creation.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2015/2422 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

CONTENT: as a consequence of the progressive expansion of its jurisdiction since its creation, the number of cases before the General Court is now constantly increasing, which has causes relating, inter alia, to the increase in the number and variety of legal acts of the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, as well as to the volume and complexity of the cases brought before the General Court, particularly in the areas of competition, State aid and intellectual property.

At present, the duration of proceedings does not appear to be acceptable from the point of view of litigants. Suitable measures of an organisational, structural and procedural nature, including, in particular, an increase in the number of Judges, should be taken to address this situation.

Increase in the number of judges : the Regulation amends Protocol No 3 of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, so that the number of judges is fixed at 56 at the end of a three-stage process.

The General Court shall consist of:

40 judges as from 25 December 2015; 47 judges as from 1 September 2016; two judges per Member State as from 1 September 2019.

Partial replacements : in order to ensure gender balance within the General Court, the Regulation provides that partial replacements in that Court should be organised in such a way that the governments of Member States gradually begin to nominate two judges for the same partial replacement with the aim therefore of choosing one woman and one man, provided that the conditions and procedures laid down by the Treaties are respected.

Reports:

By 26 December 2020 , the Court of Justice shall draw up a report on the functioning of the General Court. That report shall focus on the efficiency of the General Court, the necessity and effectiveness of the increase to 56 Judges, the use and effectiveness of resources and the further establishment of specialised chambers and/or other structural changes. Where appropriate, the Court of Justice shall make legislative requests to amend its Statute accordingly. By 26 December 2017 , the Court of Justice shall draw up a report on possible changes to the distribution of competence for preliminary rulings under Article 267 TFEU. The report shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by legislative requests.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 25.12.2015.

The Commission gave its opinion on the amendments proposed by the European Parliament at second reading on the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

To recall, the aim of the Court of Justice's request is to alleviate the congestion at the General Court of the European Union by increasing the number of judges. Initially, the Court requested 12 additional judges. Subsequently, in view of the worsening situation at the General Court, the Court of Justice informally suggested that the number of judges be gradually increased in three stages, to stand at 56 judges in 2019 (two judges per Member State), and that the posts of judges of the Civil Service Tribunal be integrated into the General Court. It was on this basis that the Council adopted its position at first reading.

The European Parliament adopted at second reading a consolidated text containing a number of amendments to the text of the Council's position at first reading. The text is the result of negotiations between Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The Commission accepts all the amendments adopted by Parliament.

The European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The European Parliament’s position adopted at second reading amended the Council position as follows:

Term of office of the additional Judges of the General Court : the partial renewal of the General Court should be organised so that the governments of Member States are able to appoint two judges during the partial renewal of the Tribunal in 2016, 2019 and 2022.

Reports :

By five years after the entry into force of this Regulation at the latest, the Court of Justice shall draw up a report, using an external consultant, for the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the functioning of the General Court. This report shall focus on the efficiency of the General Court, the necessity and effectiveness of the increase to 56 judges, the use and effectiveness of resources and the further establishment of specialised chambers and/or other structural changes. Where appropriate, the Court of Justice shall make legislative proposals to amend its Statute accordingly;

By two years after the entry into force of this Regulation at the latest, the Court of Justice shall draw up a report on possible changes to the distribution of competence for preliminary rulings under Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The report shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by legislative proposals.

Gender equality : a new recital stressed the importance of ensuring gender balance within the General Court. In order to achieve that objective, partial replacements in that Court should be organised in such a way that the Governments of Member States gradually begin to nominate two Judges for the same partial replacement with the aim therefore of choosing one woman and one man, provided that the conditions and procedures laid down by the Treaty are respected.

In a joint statement annexed to the resolution, the European Parliament and the Council declared that the governments of the Member States should, to the greatest possible extent, in the process of appointing candidates as Judges at the General Court, ensure an equal presence of women and men.

The Committee on Legal Affairs adopted the recommendation for second reading contained in the report by António MARINHO E PINTO (ADLE, PT) on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The committee recommended that the European Parliament’s position adopted at second reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Council position as follows:

the number of Judges should be fixed at 56 at the end of a three-stage process, that is to say two Judges who are each appointed upon a proposal by each of the Member States ; the appointment of additional Judges should be based on their independence, impartiality and expertise , taking account of their professional and personal suitability and their knowledge of the legal systems of the European Union and of the Member States, and ensuring, furthermore, gender balance in the overall composition of the Court; partial replacements in the General Court should be organised in such a way that the governments of Member States gradually begin to nominate two Judges for the same partial replacement ; 19 legal secretaries should be appointed so that every Judge can have an additional legal secretary (taking into account the nine secretaries appointed in 2014); in 2019, prior to the replacement of the General Court confirming the decision to allocate nine additional Judges to it, an impact study shall be carried out; by five years after the entry into force of this Regulation , the Court of Justice shall draw up a report, using an external consultant, for the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the functioning of the General Court. In particular, that report shall: (i) focus on the efficiency of the General Court, (ii) the necessity and effectiveness of the increase in the number of its judges to 56, (iii) the use and effectiveness of resources and the further establishment of specialised chambers and/or other structural changes. The Court of Justice shall submit legislative proposals to amend its Statute accordingly; by two years after the entry into force of this Regulation , the Court of Justice shall draw up a report for Parliament, the Council and the Commission on possible changes to the distribution of competence for preliminary rulings under Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The report shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by legislative proposals.

The Council adopted its position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

To recall, on 28 March 2011, the Court of Justice submitted a legislative initiative1 under the second paragraph of Article 281 TFEU to amend the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice, which included inter alia an increase of the number of judges at the General Court by 12. While the other proposed amendments were adopted on 11 August 2012, it was impossible to find an agreement within the Council as to the increase of the number of judges.

The European Parliament adopted at its plenary session on 15 April 2014 its position at first reading on the Court's proposal, supporting an increase of the number of judges at the General Court by 12.

Taking into account the important increase of the caseload of the General Court since the initial proposal was made, the Court of Justice suggested on 13 October 2014 that the co-legislators amend it so as to double the number of judges at the General Court in three stages by 2019 , including the integration of the Civil Service Tribunal in the General Court, resulting in a net increase of the number of judges by 21 additional judges.

The Council's position at first reading corresponds in essence to the suggestion of the Court of Justice of 13 October 2014, albeit with reduced costs. It foresees an increase of the number of judges at the General Court to 56 in three stages :

- first phase : from September 2015 (or the date of entry into force of the amending Regulation, if posterior to 1 September 2015) : increase of the number of judges by 12 (40 judges);

- second phase: from September 2016 : transfer of first instance jurisdiction in Union civil service cases to the General Court and integration of the 7 posts of judges of the Civil Service Tribunal into the General Court , on the basis of a future legislative request by the Court of Justice, subject to its adoption by the European Parliament and by the Council (47 judges);

- third phase: from September 2019 : increase of the number of judges by 9 (2 judges from each Member States, 56 in total).

During phases 1 and 2, each of the additional judges would have three legal secretaries. However, as set out in Recital n° 9 and agreed with the Court of Justice, the third phase should not entail any additional administrative costs (no recruitment of additional legal secretaries and assistants).

The cost of the reform which would result from the Council's position at first reading would amount to yearly additional costs of EUR 13.5 million in net figures at cruise speed, to be compared to the initial proposal evaluated at EUR 11.2 million for 12 additional judges which has already been accepted by the European Parliament in its position at first reading.

The Council's position at first reading thus represents an increase of the overall cost of the reform by 20% compared to the 2011 proposal, while at the same time the number of new cases per year at the General Court increased by 43%Taking into account also the cost of non-reform, these costs appear to be modest and justified.

The Council adopted its position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

To recall, on 28 March 2011, the Court of Justice submitted a legislative initiative1 under the second paragraph of Article 281 TFEU to amend the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice, which included inter alia an increase of the number of judges at the General Court by 12. While the other proposed amendments were adopted on 11 August 2012, it was impossible to find an agreement within the Council as to the increase of the number of judges.

The European Parliament adopted at its plenary session on 15 April 2014 its position at first reading on the Court's proposal, supporting an increase of the number of judges at the General Court by 12.

Taking into account the important increase of the caseload of the General Court since the initial proposal was made, the Court of Justice suggested on 13 October 2014 that the co-legislators amend it so as to double the number of judges at the General Court in three stages by 2019 , including the integration of the Civil Service Tribunal in the General Court, resulting in a net increase of the number of judges by 21 additional judges.

The Council's position at first reading corresponds in essence to the suggestion of the Court of Justice of 13 October 2014, albeit with reduced costs. It foresees an increase of the number of judges at the General Court to 56 in three stages :

- first phase : from September 2015 (or the date of entry into force of the amending Regulation, if posterior to 1 September 2015) : increase of the number of judges by 12 (40 judges);

- second phase: from September 2016 : transfer of first instance jurisdiction in Union civil service cases to the General Court and integration of the 7 posts of judges of the Civil Service Tribunal into the General Court , on the basis of a future legislative request by the Court of Justice, subject to its adoption by the European Parliament and by the Council (47 judges);

- third phase: from September 2019 : increase of the number of judges by 9 (2 judges from each Member States, 56 in total).

During phases 1 and 2, each of the additional judges would have three legal secretaries. However, as set out in Recital n° 9 and agreed with the Court of Justice, the third phase should not entail any additional administrative costs (no recruitment of additional legal secretaries and assistants).

The cost of the reform which would result from the Council's position at first reading would amount to yearly additional costs of EUR 13.5 million in net figures at cruise speed, to be compared to the initial proposal evaluated at EUR 11.2 million for 12 additional judges which has already been accepted by the European Parliament in its position at first reading.

The Council's position at first reading thus represents an increase of the overall cost of the reform by 20% compared to the 2011 proposal, while at the same time the number of new cases per year at the General Court increased by 43%Taking into account also the cost of non-reform, these costs appear to be modest and justified.

The European Parliament adopted by 590 votes to 79, with 7 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union by increasing the number of Judges at the General Court.

The report was referred back to the committee at the 12 December 2012 plenary sitting.

Parliament adopted its position at first reading the text adopted on 12 December 2013 ( please refer to the summary of the same date ).

The European Parliament adopted by 553 votes to 25 with 9 abstentions, amendments to the proposed Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union to increase the number of judges at the General Court.

The matter was referred back to the competent committee for re-consideration. The vote on the legislative resolution was moved to a later plenary session.

Parliament recognised that the number of cases brought before the General Court has been steadily increasing over the years, resulting over time in an increase in the number of cases pending before that court and an increase in the duration of proceedings.

Accordingly, Parliament proposed that the General Court should be composed of one Judge per Member State and 12 additional Judges.

According to Members, the system should be as follows: one Judge per Member State would be appointed under the present system. Thus, an appropriate geographical balance would be ensured and representation of national legal systems taken into account.

The 12 additional Judges should be appointed exclusively on the basis of their professional and personal suitability , regardless of their nationality. All Member State governments may submit nominations. However, there should be no more than two Judges for any Member State.

To ensure that the experience of retiring judges is not lost, Parliament furthermore proposed that retiring judges should be able to nominate themselves in direct submissions to the panel referred to in Article 255 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The panel shall give an opinion on nominees' suitability to perform the duties of Judge of the General Court. The opinion on candidates' suitability will contain a list of candidates having the most suitable high-level experience, by order of merit.

The 12 additional Judges appointed on the basis of the Regulation shall take up their duties immediately once they have taken the oath.

The Legal Affairs Committee adopted the report by Alexandra THEIN (ADLE, DE) on the proposed Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union to increase the number of judges at the General Court.

The parliamentary committee recommended that the position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure amend the proposed Regulation.

The Committee agreed with the arguments put forward by the Court according to which the need to appoint additional judges is proven. It therefore proposed that the General Court consist of one Judge per Member State and 12 additional Judges .

According to the Committee, the system should be as follows: one Judge per Member State would be appointed under the present system. Thus, an appropriate geographical balance would be ensured and representation of national legal systems taken into account.

The 12 additional Judges should be appointed exclusively on the basis of their professional and personal suitability, regardless of their nationality . However, there should be no more than two Judges for any Member State.

To ensure that the experience of retiring judges is not lost, the report furthermore proposes that retiring judges should be able to nominate themselves in direct submissions to the panel referred to in Article 255 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The 12 additional Judges appointed on the basis of the Regulation shall take up their duties immediately once they have taken the oath. The term of office of six of them, chosen by lot, shall end six years after the first partial replacement of the General Court following the entry into force of this Regulation. The term of the other six judges shall end six years after the second partial replacement of the General Court following the entry into force of this Regulation.

PURPOSE: to submit to the EU legislature draft amendments to the Statute of the Court of Justice and Annex I thereto.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

LEGAL BASIS:

Article 19(2), second paragraph, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. (TFUE); first paragraph of Article 254, the first and second paragraphs of Article 257 and the second paragraph of Article 281 TFEU; Article 106a(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community.

CONTENT: the Court of Justice submits to the European Union legislature draft amendments to the Statute of the Court of Justice and its Annex I. This single text incorporates separate proposals in respect of each of the three jurisdictions which comprise the Court of Justice of the European Union.

1) Proposals relating to the Court of Justice : the Court considers it desirable to establish the office of Vice-President of the Court of Justice and to amend the rules relating to the composition of the Grand Chamber.

The current structure of the Grand Chamber and the rules determining how it operates - a quorum of nine Judges together with the participation in every case of the President of the Court and the Presidents of the Chambers of five Judges - are the product of amendments introduced by the Treaty of Nice, which entered into force on 1 February 2003.

Since that date, there have been a number of changes affecting the work of the Court: (i) the accession of 12 new Member States; (ii) the transition from two to three Chambers of five Judges in May 2004 and to four Chambers of five Judges in October 2006; (iii) the introduction of the urgent preliminary ruling procedure in March 2008; and (iv) the introduction of the review procedure following the establishment of the Civil Service Tribunal.

At present, the President of the Court and the Presidents of the Chambers of five Judges have a very heavy workload, whereas other Judges sit in relatively few cases assigned to the Grand Chamber.

The proposal provides for:

broader participation by the Judges in cases assigned to the Grand Chamber , allowing them to sit far more frequently than at present (in almost half, instead of a third, of all cases). That would be achieved by the amendment of Articles 16 and 17 of the Statute so as to increase to 15 the number of Judges constituting the Grand Chamber and to end the automatic participation of the Presidents of Chambers of five Judges in Grand Chamber cases. Corresponding adjustments must be made to the rules relating to the quorum of the Grand Chamber and of the full Court; the establishment of the office of Vice-President : the latter would sit, like the President, in every case assigned to the Grand Chamber. The permanent presence of two persons, together with the more frequent participation of the other Judges in the work of the Grand Chamber, would ensure that its case-law is consistent. In addition to sitting in every Grand Chamber case, the Vice-President would also assist the President of the Court in his duties.

2) Proposals relating to the General Court : for several years now, the number of cases disposed of by the General Court has been lower than the number of new cases, so that the number of pending cases is rising constantly. At the end of 2010, there were 1 300 cases pending, whereas, in the same year, 527 cases were disposed of.

In addition to the number of cases currently pending, the likely increase in the number of cases brought before the General Court must be taken into account: there was an increase of 65% between 2000 and 2010 . In addition to those areas of litigation, further litigation will be generated by the application of the numerous regulations establishing European Union agencies, in particular the REACH Regulation The current increase in workload is due to (i) the devolution of jurisdiction, since 2004, to rule on certain classes of action or proceedings brought by the Member States; (ii) to the increase in litigation following the 2004 and 2007 accessions; (iii) to the litigation engendered by the increase, resulting from greater European integration, in the number and variety of legislative and regulatory acts of the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the EU; and (iv) to the growth of litigation relating to Community trade mark applications.

The Court of Justice believes that a structural solution is urgently required. The Treaties offer two possible routes to reform :

(a) to establish specialised courts with jurisdiction to hear and determine direct actions in a specific area, in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 257 TFEU. The field of intellectual property has been mooted in that regard; (b) increasing the number of Judges of the General Court by means of an amendment to Article 48 of the Statute in accordance with the mechanism provided for in the second paragraph of Article 281 TFEU.

Having weighed up the two options at length, the Court of Justice has come to the conclusion that an increase in the number of Judges is clearly preferable to the establishment of a specialised court in the field of intellectual property . Its reasons relate to the effectiveness of the proposed solution, the urgency of the situation, the flexibility of the measure envisaged and the consistency of European Union law.

The Court of Justice therefore considers that an increase in the number of Judges by at least 12 , bringing the number of General Court Judges to 39 , is necessary.

3) Proposals relating to the Civil Service Tribunal : the European Union Civil Service Tribunal comprises seven Judges. Owing to that limited composition, the functioning of the Tribunal can be seriously affected if one of its members, for an extended period of time, is prevented on medical grounds from performing his duties, without however suffering from disablement within the meaning of Article 10 of Council Regulation No 422/67/EEC, No 5/67/Euratom.

In order to ensure that the Civil Service Tribunal is not placed in a situation of difficulty such as to prevent it from carrying out its judicial functions, it is proposed to amend Article 62c of the Statute of the Court by providing, in general terms, for the possibility of attaching temporary Judges to the specialised courts.

The rules governing the appointment of temporary Judges, their rights and obligations, the conditions under which they are to perform their duties and the circumstances in which they will cease to perform those duties are laid down in a separate draft regulation , which would supplement Annex I to the Statute.

PURPOSE: to submit to the EU legislature draft amendments to the Statute of the Court of Justice and Annex I thereto.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

LEGAL BASIS:

Article 19(2), second paragraph, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. (TFUE); first paragraph of Article 254, the first and second paragraphs of Article 257 and the second paragraph of Article 281 TFEU; Article 106a(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community.

CONTENT: the Court of Justice submits to the European Union legislature draft amendments to the Statute of the Court of Justice and its Annex I. This single text incorporates separate proposals in respect of each of the three jurisdictions which comprise the Court of Justice of the European Union.

1) Proposals relating to the Court of Justice : the Court considers it desirable to establish the office of Vice-President of the Court of Justice and to amend the rules relating to the composition of the Grand Chamber.

The current structure of the Grand Chamber and the rules determining how it operates - a quorum of nine Judges together with the participation in every case of the President of the Court and the Presidents of the Chambers of five Judges - are the product of amendments introduced by the Treaty of Nice, which entered into force on 1 February 2003.

Since that date, there have been a number of changes affecting the work of the Court: (i) the accession of 12 new Member States; (ii) the transition from two to three Chambers of five Judges in May 2004 and to four Chambers of five Judges in October 2006; (iii) the introduction of the urgent preliminary ruling procedure in March 2008; and (iv) the introduction of the review procedure following the establishment of the Civil Service Tribunal.

At present, the President of the Court and the Presidents of the Chambers of five Judges have a very heavy workload, whereas other Judges sit in relatively few cases assigned to the Grand Chamber.

The proposal provides for:

broader participation by the Judges in cases assigned to the Grand Chamber , allowing them to sit far more frequently than at present (in almost half, instead of a third, of all cases). That would be achieved by the amendment of Articles 16 and 17 of the Statute so as to increase to 15 the number of Judges constituting the Grand Chamber and to end the automatic participation of the Presidents of Chambers of five Judges in Grand Chamber cases. Corresponding adjustments must be made to the rules relating to the quorum of the Grand Chamber and of the full Court; the establishment of the office of Vice-President : the latter would sit, like the President, in every case assigned to the Grand Chamber. The permanent presence of two persons, together with the more frequent participation of the other Judges in the work of the Grand Chamber, would ensure that its case-law is consistent. In addition to sitting in every Grand Chamber case, the Vice-President would also assist the President of the Court in his duties.

2) Proposals relating to the General Court : for several years now, the number of cases disposed of by the General Court has been lower than the number of new cases, so that the number of pending cases is rising constantly. At the end of 2010, there were 1 300 cases pending, whereas, in the same year, 527 cases were disposed of.

In addition to the number of cases currently pending, the likely increase in the number of cases brought before the General Court must be taken into account: there was an increase of 65% between 2000 and 2010 . In addition to those areas of litigation, further litigation will be generated by the application of the numerous regulations establishing European Union agencies, in particular the REACH Regulation The current increase in workload is due to (i) the devolution of jurisdiction, since 2004, to rule on certain classes of action or proceedings brought by the Member States; (ii) to the increase in litigation following the 2004 and 2007 accessions; (iii) to the litigation engendered by the increase, resulting from greater European integration, in the number and variety of legislative and regulatory acts of the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the EU; and (iv) to the growth of litigation relating to Community trade mark applications.

The Court of Justice believes that a structural solution is urgently required. The Treaties offer two possible routes to reform :

(a) to establish specialised courts with jurisdiction to hear and determine direct actions in a specific area, in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 257 TFEU. The field of intellectual property has been mooted in that regard; (b) increasing the number of Judges of the General Court by means of an amendment to Article 48 of the Statute in accordance with the mechanism provided for in the second paragraph of Article 281 TFEU.

Having weighed up the two options at length, the Court of Justice has come to the conclusion that an increase in the number of Judges is clearly preferable to the establishment of a specialised court in the field of intellectual property . Its reasons relate to the effectiveness of the proposed solution, the urgency of the situation, the flexibility of the measure envisaged and the consistency of European Union law.

The Court of Justice therefore considers that an increase in the number of Judges by at least 12 , bringing the number of General Court Judges to 39 , is necessary.

3) Proposals relating to the Civil Service Tribunal : the European Union Civil Service Tribunal comprises seven Judges. Owing to that limited composition, the functioning of the Tribunal can be seriously affected if one of its members, for an extended period of time, is prevented on medical grounds from performing his duties, without however suffering from disablement within the meaning of Article 10 of Council Regulation No 422/67/EEC, No 5/67/Euratom.

In order to ensure that the Civil Service Tribunal is not placed in a situation of difficulty such as to prevent it from carrying out its judicial functions, it is proposed to amend Article 62c of the Statute of the Court by providing, in general terms, for the possibility of attaching temporary Judges to the specialised courts.

The rules governing the appointment of temporary Judges, their rights and obligations, the conditions under which they are to perform their duties and the circumstances in which they will cease to perform those duties are laid down in a separate draft regulation , which would supplement Annex I to the Statute.