In order to improve the operation of the Community court system, the Council has approved the establishment of a new judicial body, to hear European civil service disputes - Main contents

C/04/254

Brussels, 2 November 2004

12071/04 (Presse 254)

In order to improve the operation of the Community court system, the Council has approved the establishment of a new judicial body, to hear European civil service disputes

The Council today adopted a Decision establishing a new judicial body, to hear disputes between the European Union's institutions and its officials and other staff. By relieving the Court of First Instance of part of its present caseload, that Decision will improve the operation of the Community court system. The European Union Civil Service Tribunal, forming an integral part of the Court of Justice, will sit in Luxembourg.

The European Union Civil Service Tribunal will exercise jurisdiction at first instance and its judgments may be appealed against, on points of law only, to the Court of First Instance.

The new Tribunal will be composed of seven judges appointed by the Council for a six-year term after it has consulted an independent committee of figures from the legal world. The judges will then elect the President of the Tribunal from among their number for a three-year term, and he may be re-elected.