Annual Report 2008 MMUNITIES CO EUROPEAN the of JUSTICE of T UR CO 250 Inksave Uncoated; ISO CMYK Profile: Output 11:00:08; 2009 16, Apr Date: Mm); 297.00
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C EN 001 09 AG QD EN COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ANNUAL REPORT 2008 OF CO UR THE T OF EUROPEAN JUSTICE CO MMUNITIES Annual 2008 re por t ISSN 1680-8304 Format: (430.40 x 297.00 mm); Date: Apr 16, 2009 11:00:08; Output Profile: CMYK ISO Uncoated; InkSave 250 How to obtain EU publications Publications for sale: • via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu); • from your bookseller by quoting the title, publisher and/or ISBN number; • by contacting one of our sales agents directly. You can obtain their contact details on the Internet (http://bookshop.europa.eu) or by sending a fax to +352 2929-42758. Free publications: • via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu); • at the European Commission’s representations or delegations. You can obtain their contact details on the Internet (http://ec.europa.eu) or by sending a fax to +352 2929-42758. 250 InkSave Uncoated; ISO CMYK Profile: Output 11:00:08; 2009 16, Apr Date: mm); 297.00 x (430.40 Format: COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ANNUAL REPORT 2008 Synopsis of the work of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the Court of First Instance of the European Communities and the European Union Civil Service Tribunal Luxembourg 2009 www.curia.europa.eu Failed Preflight: 280; InkSave (ECI); v2 Coated ISO CMYK Profile: Output 07:54:49; 2009 15, May Date: mm); 297.00 x (210.00 Format: Court of Justice of the European Communities 2925 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG Tel. +352 4303-1 Court of First Instance of the European Communities 2925 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG Tel. +352 4303-1 European Union Civil Service Tribunal 2925 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG Tel. +352 4303-1 Court of Justice on the Internet: http://www.curia.europa.eu The Annual Report is also available on CD-ROM from the Press and Information Service of the Court of Justice Tel. +352 4303-2035 Completed on: 31 December 2008 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The photographs may be reproduced only in the context of this publication. For any other use, authorisation must be sought from the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2009 ISBN 978-92-829-0896-9 Failed doi: 10.2862/2047 Preflight: 280; © European Communities, 2009 InkSave (ECI); v2 Coated Printed in Luxembourg ISO CMYK Profile: PRINTED ON WHITECHLORINE-FREE PAPER Output 07:54:49; 2009 15, May Date: mm); 297.00 x (210.00 Format: Contents Court of Justice Contents Page Foreword by the President of the Court of Justice, Vassilios Skouris ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter I The Court of Justice of the European Communities A — The Court of Justice in 2008: changes and proceedings .................................................. 9 B — Composition of the Court of Justice....................................................................................... 55 1. Members of the Court of Justice........................................................................................ 57 2. Change in the composition of the Court of Justice in 2008 .................................... 71 3. Order of precedence .............................................................................................................. 73 4. Former Members of the Court of Justice........................................................................ 75 C — Statistics concerning the judicial activity of the Court of Justice ................................ 79 Chapter II The Court of First Instance of the European Communities A — Proceedings of the Court of First Instance in 2008 ........................................................ 111 B — Composition of the Court of First Instance....................................................................... 151 1. Members of the Court of First Instance........................................................................ 153 2. Change in the composition of the Court of First Instance in 2008 ..................... 163 3. Order of precedence .......................................................................................................... 165 4. Former Members of the Court of First Instance ........................................................ 167 Failed Preflight: 280; C — Statistics concerning the judicial activity of the Court of First Instance ................ 169 InkSave (ECI); v2 Coated ISO CMYK Profile: Output 07:54:49; 2009 15, Annual Report 2008 3 May Date: mm); 297.00 x (210.00 Format: Court of Justice Contents Chapter III The European Union Civil Service Tribunal A — Proceedings of the Civil Service Tribunal in 2008 ........................................................... 193 B — Composition of the Civil Service Tribunal ......................................................................... 205 1. Members of the Civil Service Tribunal .......................................................................... 207 2. Order of precedence ........................................................................................................... 211 C — Statistics concerning the judicial activity of the Civil Service Tribunal.................... 213 Chapter IV Meetings and visits A — Official visits and events at the Court of Justice, the Court of First Instance and the Civil Service Tribunal ................................................................................................. 227 B — Study visits (2008) ...................................................................................................................... 231 C — Formal sittings ............................................................................................................................. 235 D — Visits and participation in Official functions ..................................................................... 237 Abridged organisational chart ............................................................................................................ 244 Contact details for the Court of Justice .............................................................................................. 247 Failed Preflight: 280; InkSave (ECI); v2 Coated ISO CMYK Profile: Output 07:54:50; 2009 15, 4 Annual Report 2008 May Date: mm); 297.00 x (210.00 Format: Foreword Court of Justice Foreword For the Court of Justice, 2008 was a symbolic year: it took possession of its new complex of buildings. The Court now has a centralised infrastructure commensurate with its own expansion, the continuously increasing volume of litigation before it, the introduction of new procedures and the recent enlargements of the European Union; an optimal situation even in the era of electronic communication. The historical importance of the inauguration of the Court’s new complex of buildings, an occasion marked by the presence of distinguished guests, should not push other events of the past year into the background. The implementation of the new urgent preliminary ruling procedure was equally important, enabling the Court to deal within a very short time frame with the first cases, falling within the scope of the area of freedom, security and justice, to which the procedure was applied. The past year will also be remembered for the efficiency and unflagging rate of the per- formance of the institution’s judicial tasks. In this connection, the overall decrease in the duration of proceedings may be noted, the decrease being very significant especially in preliminary ruling proceedings, while the Court of First Instance had one of the most pro- ductive years in its history. Finally, in the past year a total of 1 332 cases were brought before the three courts compris- ing the Court of Justice; the figure is the highest in the institution’s history for the second year in succession and demonstrates the constant increase in the amount of Community litigation. The Annual Report provides its readers with an account of changes affecting the three courts comprising the institution, namely the Court of Justice, the Court of First Instance and the Civil Service Tribunal, and of the most important aspects of their work. Separate statistics for each court supplement and illustrate the analysis of the past year’s judicial activity. Failed Preflight: 280; V. Skouris InkSave (ECI); President of the Court of Justice v2 Coated ISO CMYK Profile: Output 07:54:50; 2009 15, Annual Report 2008 5 May Date: mm); 297.00 x (210.00 Format: Format: (210.00 x 297.00 mm); Date: May 15, 2009 07:54:50; Output Profile: CMYK ISO Coated v2 (ECI); InkSave 280; Preflight: Failed of the Eu ro Th pean e Co Chapt Co ur mmunities t of Justic er e I Format: (210.00 x 297.00 mm); Date: May 15, 2009 07:54:52; Output Profile: CMYK ISO Coated v2 (ECI); InkSave 280; Preflight: Failed Format: (210.00 x 297.00 mm); Date: May 15, 2009 07:54:52; Output Profile: CMYK ISO Coated v2 (ECI); InkSave 280; Preflight: Failed Proceedings Court of Justice A — The Court of Justice in 2008: changes and proceedings By Mr Vassilios Skouris, President of the Court of Justice The structure of the Annual Report follows that of previous years. The first part gives an overview of the activity of the Court of Justice of the European Communities in 2008. It describes, first, how the institution evolved during that year, with the emphasis on the institutional