AMENDMENT OF THE STATUTE OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU EFFECTIVE FROM 1ST SEPTEMBER 2024

#125Amendment of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the EU effective from 1st September 2024

A significant change to the Statute of the Court of Justice of the EU was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, which will enter into force on 1st September, 2024. This change regulates the partial transfer of preliminary jurisdiction of the Court of Justice to the General Court. The primary goal of this reform is to reduce the burden on the Court of Justice in the area of ​​preliminary questions and to ensure within reasonable time limits the control over the observance of the law and the interpretation of contracts by the Court of Justice.

The first significant change brought about by the reform is the transfer of authority from the Court of Justice to the General Court in the area of ​​hearing and deciding on preliminary questions submitted from 1st October 2024. The transfer of this power will only concern six specific areas in which there is a large amount of the Court's case law. Specifically, these areas are:

1. common VAT system;
2. consumption taxes;
3. customs Code;
4. nomenclature classification of goods;
5. compensation and assistance to passengers in case of refusal to board the plane or delay or cancellation of transport services;
6. system for trading greenhouse gas emission quotas

However, for the sake of legal certainty, the Court of Justice will continue to have jurisdiction to hear and rule on preliminary questions in the event that a fundamental decision is required in the area of ​​unity and internal coherence of Union law.

Despite this reform, every request for a preliminary ruling must still be submitted to the Court of Justice, which will decide whether the submitted request will be forwarded to the General Court. However, each new decision will include a brief justification by the Court of Justice or the General Court on its jurisdiction to hear the submitted proposal.

Another significant change brought by the reform is the strengthening of transparency and openness in the area of ​​pre-trial proceedings by the fact that all proposals for the initiation of pre-trial proceedings will be notified to the Council and the European Central Bank and the European Parliament, due to the use of the right to express themselves. Submitted statements or written comments will now also be published on the website of the Court of Justice after the end of the case.