EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE

1. EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE WHAT IS EUROPE? WHAT IS ECJ?

2. WHAT IS EUROPE ? • Europe is, by its definition, merely a geographical region defined by mountain ranges and seas • According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, it is the “western peninsular appendage of the Eurasian landmass, larger only than Australia among the continents.”

3. GEOGRAPHICAL DEFINITION Europe consists of the Svarlbard islands, British Isles, Faeroe Islands, Iceland, Madeira Islands, Canary Islands, and the landmass running from the North, West and Southern coastlines across to the line drawn out by the Eastern Ural mountains, Mugodzhar hills, along the Emba River, Northern shore of the Caspian sea, the Kumo-Manych depression and the Kerch strait to the Black sea.

4. GEOGRAPHICAL CONTINENT

5. THE 25 EUROPEAN MEMBER STATES?

6. BASIC EUROPEAN STATISTICS • 25 countries in ‘Europe’ • 15 (possibly 28) of these are in the ‘European Union’ • 12 of these 15 have the ‘Euro’ currency • total geographical area of 10.4 million km2 (or 4 • million miles2) • a population of 718.5 million (year 2000) • average life expectancies of 75 (male) and 81 (female)

7. EUROPEAN POLICE OFFICE • The European Police Office was set up in 1992 to handle Europe-wide criminal intelligence • It is preventing and combating organized international crime, in particular such as:  • drug trafficking • immigration networks • Europol supports member states by: • making it easier for national law enforcement agencies to exchange information; • providing operational analysis; and producing reports and crime analysis

8. THE COURT OF JUSTICE • Why was the CJ of the European Communities (ECJ) established? • Does the jurisprudence of the ECJ Communities affect the European citizen? • Are National Courts Obliged to Follow the Interpretation of the CJ?

9. THE COURT OF JUSTICE • What is the linguistic regime of the CJ? • What does the Court do? • How is the Court's work organized?

10. COURT OF JUSTICE DEFINITION • The CJ of the European Communities (often referred to simply as "the Court") was set up in 1952 • Its job is to ensure that EU legislation • The Court is composed of one judge per member state • This Court (CJ) is responsible for giving rulings on certain kinds of case

11. COURT OF JUSTICE

12. Why was the CJ of the European Communities (ECJ) established? • The Communities produce their own legal acts and laws and uniformly applied in all the Member States • Judicial bodies are necessary and these judicial bodies are the CJ and the CFI of the European Communities • The essential task of the CJ is the uniform interpretation of Community law

13. DOES THE JURISPRUDENCE OF THE ECJ COMMUNITIES AFFECT THE EUROPEAN CITIZEN? • Community law affects the diverse activities of the European citizen • Numerous national laws have Community origins • National law must respect Community law which is directly applicable in all the Member States • The CJ, in its interpretation and enforcement of Community law, must therefore take into consideration the concerns of citizens

14. ARE NATIONAL COURTS OBLIGED TO FOLLOW THE INTERPRETATION OF THE CJ? • When the Court decides that a Community act is not in conformity with the treaties • The decision will have binding force and is applicable in all the courts of the Member States • The national courts are bound by the interpretation of the Court • This is also the case for public authorities

15. WHAT IS THE LINGUISTIC REGIME OF THE CJ? • The language of procedure may be any one of the languages of the European Union • The language of procedure will be that of the national court which referred the case • The Institution has numerous interpreters and a translation service • This reflects the principle of equal access of all Community citizens to Community justice

16. WHAT DOES THE COURT DO? The Court gives rulings on cases brought before it the five most common types of case are: • Requests for a preliminary ruling; • Proceedings for failure to fulfill an obligation; • Proceedings for annulment; • Proceedings for failure to act. • References for a preliminary ruling

17. HOW IS THE COURT'S WORK ORGANIZED? • Cases are submitted to the registry and the procedure that follows is in two stages • first stage, all the parties involved submit written statements • the second stage-the public hearing • The advocate-general gives his or her conclusions • Judgments of the Court are decided by a majority and pronounced at a public hearing

18. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE ECJ AND THE GROWTH OF PRELIMINARY RULINGS • The Treaty of Rome did not provide for the establishment of a Supreme Court similar • The Court itself has referred to those principles as the “essential characteristics” • The preliminary reference system has led, in effect, to transfer of powers at three levels • from the governments of the Member States to the institutions of the Community; • from the executive and the legislature to the judiciary, and • from higher national courts to lower national courts

19. DEVELOPMENT OF THE COURT'S JURISPRUDENCE • Developments in this area, as in many other areas of Community law, have been characterized by a "push and pull" • Asserting the authority to judge Member State actions against Community fundamental rights standards requires two steps • The first of these steps the establishment of a Community "bill of rights" • The second step would require the application of this "bill of rights" to the Member States

20. DEVELOPMENT OF THE COURT'S JURISPRUDENCE cont’d • Two possible models of judicial review might result from such a process • The first might be akin to that found in the United States • The second model is also premised on centrally determined fundamental rights standards

21. THE CASE OF CYPRUS • British Rule • European Stance on the Cyprus Problem and European Union Membership • Extracts from the Declaration • Export Opportunities