On Aug. 12, ECJ issued information on reform of EU judicial system.
ECJ announced jurisdiction to hear and determine questions referred for preliminary ruling is conferred on General Court in 6 specific areas and other changes to system.
Transfer's implementation is part of extension of reform of judicial framework of EU.
It will affect questions referred for a preliminary ruling from Oct. 1, 2024.
Key Areas
Common system of VAT; excise duties; Customs Code; tariff classification of goods.
Compensation, assistance to passengers in event of denied boarding, delay or cancellation of transport services; greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system.
For reasons of legal certainty, transfer concerns only 6 areas, clearly defined, separable from other areas which have given rise to substantial body of case-law of the EU Court.
These areas rarely give rise to questions of principle likely to affect consistency of EU law, already benefit from extensive body of case-law, should enable Court to draw on.
These areas account for approximately 20% of references for preliminary ruling.
Represents sufficiently high number of cases to bring about real reduction in workload.
The Court of Justice will thus be in position to focus to greater extent on its roles as supreme and constitutional court of the EU; further details provided.
Context
Transfer in context of amendment to Statute which also provides for extension, from Sep. 1, 2024, of mechanism to determine whether an appeal is allowed to proceed.
Mechanism will also apply to appeals brought against decisions of General Court re decision of independent board of appeal, set up after May 1, 2019 within any other EU body, office/agency that has to be seised before action brought before General Court.
Latter is also extended to disputes re performance of contracts with arbitration clause.
Such disputes most frequently merely require General Court to apply to substance of dispute national law to which the arbitration clause refers.
Effectiveness
Changes in preliminary rulings effective as of Oct. 1, 2024.
