The Role and Future of the European Union Judicial System

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In the past decade, there has been a continuous process of amendment in relation to the European Union (EU) judicial system to enable it to handle its growing workload more effectively. The Institute's 1996 publication The Role and future of the European Court of Justice was primarily concerned with the question of the efficiency of the EU judicial system. Ten years later, in 2006, the issue of the massive workload of the Union Courts is still a major concern. The legitimacy of the Union Courts is endangered by the long delays in proceedings and the ongoing struggle to cope with its mounting caseload. If confidence is lost in the ability of the Union Courts to issue well reasoned decisions within a reasonable timeframe there may be a detrimental effect on the unity and consistency of EU Law as a whole, thereby endangering the crucial role of the Court of Justice in ensuring the uniform interpretation and application of the Treaties.

Many of the recommendations made in the 1996 BIICL study on the ECJ have been implemented to improve the functioning of the Union Court system. The redrawing of the judicial architecture of the EU was one of the main features of the Nice Treaty. The Nice Treaty paved the way for the reallocation of jurisdiction among the Union Courts, to help alleviate the work burden of both the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Court of First Instance (CFI), allowing them to concentrate on their respective primary functions. The possibility of transferring preliminary ruling jurisdiction from the European Court of Justice to the Court of First Instance was introduced. A three-tier EU judicial system was envisaged for the future. At the apex of the new EU court system the ECJ would have its workload reduced to allow it to concentrate on the most important cases, in particular those having a strong constitutional dimension. The CFI's future role is seen as a court of general jurisdiction, its status upgraded to a court of appeal vis-à-vis the proposed new specialised judicial panels. The European Union Civil Service Tribunal was established in 2004, and may become a precedent for future specialised courts, in fields such as Competition Law and Intellectual Property Law. There is a clear tension between the goal of increased organisational efficiency and at the same time safeguarding the unity and consistency of EU Law in the transfer of jurisdiction to a specific area.

Despite a reduction in the length of proceedings in recent years due to procedural reforms and improvements made by the Union Courts to enhance its internal working methods, delays are still at an unsatisfactory level. Furthermore, the Union Court's workload is likely to increase significantly in the coming years due to the burgeoning jurisdiction of the Court of Justice and the impact of Enlargement. The needs of commerce for speedy and effective judicial review and the increasing jurisdiction of the Union Courts over areas involving the protection of fundamental rights are likely to place further demands on the already stretched capacity of the Union Courts. In the wake of the contested Draft Constitutional Treaty, which did not address the issue of the functioning of the EU judicial system directly, debate on the next steps in EU court reform is needed. Consideration needs to be given to the potential use of the judicial reform mechanisms introduced by the Nice Treaty to address the challenges facing the Union Court system.

For further information on this initiative please contact info@biicl.org.