The European Court of Justice

UNIT 27

Institutions of the EU

•The European Parliament

•The European Council

•The European Commission

•The European Court of Justice

•The European Court of Auditors

The European Parliament• legislative branch of the EU (together with the Council)• elected by the citizens of the European Union to represent their

interests• elections are held every 5 years, every EU citizen is entitled to vote

and to stand as a candidate (next elections 2009)• Based in Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg and Strasbourg (France)

3 main roles of the Parliament 1. Passing European laws (jointly with the Council in many political areas) 2. Democratic supervision over the European Institutions (particularly the Commission) 3. The power of the purse (shares with the Council the authority over the EU budget)

The European Council• legislative branch of the EU (together with the Parliament)• EU's main decision-making body; represents the member states; meetings

are attended by one minister from each of the EU’s national governments

Six key responsibilities of the Council:1. to pass European laws – jointly with the European Parliament in many policy areas.2. to co-ordinate the broad economic policies of the member states.3. to conclude international agreements between the EU and other countries or international organizations.4. to approve the EU’s budget, jointly with the European Parliament5. to develop the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy based on guidelines set by the European Council.6. to co-ordinate co-operation between the national courts and police forces in criminal matters

Flags of the EU member states

The European Commission

• executive branch of the EU • independent of national governments• represents and upholds the interests of the EU as a

whole• a new Commission appointed every five years within

six months of the elections to the Parliament• appointed Members known as ‘commissioners’

4 main roles:1. to propose legislation to Parliament and the Council;2. to manage and implement EU policies and the budget;3. to enforce European law (jointly with the Court of

Justice);4. to represent the European Union on the international

stage, for example by negotiating agreements between the EU and other countries

José Manuel Barroso heads the

EU executive as President of the

European Commission

The Court of Auditors

•NO judicial power - BUT financial and budgetary supervision

•established in 1975 by the Budgetary Treaty in Luxembourg

Its AIM is - to ensure that the taxpayers get maximum value for their money (has the right to audit any person or organisation handling EU funds)

THE MAIN ROLES OF THE COURT:

•checks that EU funds (which come from the taxpayers) are properly collected and spent legally, economically and for the intended purpose

•gives its opinion on proposals for EU financial legislation and for EU action to fight fraud

- approximately 800 staff, including translators, administrators and auditors;

The European Court of Auditors, Luxembourg

THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE (ECJ)

• the highest court of the European Union

• ultimate say in matters of Community Law

• established under the ECSC Treaty in 1952 by the Treaty of Paris for the European Coal and Steel Community

• based in Luxembourg• assisted by a lower court - the COURT OF FIRST

INSTANCEThe Court of Justice of the European Communities,

Luxembourg

THE MAIN FUNCTIONS of the COURT

• it makes sure that

a) EU legislation is interpreted and applied in the same way in all EU countries, so that the law is equal for everyone (e.g. it ensures that national courts do not give different rulings on the same issue)

b)EU member states and institutions do what the law requires

Composition of the ECJ

27 JUDGES(one judge per member state)

The Court sits in CHAMBERS

A) FULL COURT (including Advocates General) – exceptional cases provided for by the Treaty

B) ‘Grand Chamber’ of 13 Judges – complex or important cases

C) chambers of 5 or 3 Judges

8 ADVOCATES GENERAL (assist the court)

• present reasoned opinions on the cases brought before the Court (they must do so publicly and impartially)

• given opinions are not binding for judges

• 5 nominated by the five big members of the EU, other 3 rotate in alphabetical order between smaller member states

appointed to the Court of Justice by joint agreement between the governments of the EU member states for a

renewable term of six years

THE JURISDICTION

• Acts as a constitutional court - adjudicates on matters of constitutional significance (eg. proper division of powers between the States and the Community, extent of powers of the EU institutions

• Varying matters of substantive law (from competition policy to social policy, agriculture, transport etc.)

• Appelate court• Supreme administrative court

What does the Court do?• gives rulings on cases brought before it

The five most common types of case are:• references for a preliminary ruling;• actions for failure to fulfil an obligation;• actions for annulment;• actions for failure to act;• appeals• reviews

Who can bring an action before the ECJ?

• The Court has the power to settle legal disputes between

1.EU member states, 2.EU institutions3.companies and individuals4.different parties in cases concerning a wide

range of issues referred from national courts

The Court of First Instance• created in 1988, attached to the ECJ; also one judge from each EU

countryPURPOSE – to help the Court of Justice cope with the large number of cases

brought before it, and - to offer citizens better legal protection

Gives rulings on A) certain kinds of case, particularly actions brought by private

individuals, companies and some organizations, and B) cases relating to competition law and trade law

The EU Civil Service Tribunal – attached to the Court of First Instance• adjudicates in disputes between the European Union and its civil

service

THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICESkim the text on the European Court of Justice and put

the following paragraph headings in the right order. __ The Composition of the Court__ The Principal Institutions of the European Union__ The Role of the Court in Developing Community Law__ The Jurisdiction of the Court__ The Powers and Functions of the European Court of Justice__ The Main Concerns of the Court during the Integration Process

Find English equivalents for the following Croatian legal terms.

• povjeriti zadatak• Revizorski sud• revizor• presuditi/donijeti presuda• Prvostupanjski sud• nadzor proračuna• okvirni ugovor• povećanje učinkovitosti

prava Europske zajednice

• ugradnja prava Europske unije u pravne sustave Zemalja članica

• odlučivati u Vijeću• pravilna podjela ovlasti

između Zemalja članica i Zajednice

• materijalno pravo• doznačiti s nacionalnog

suda