The new specialised courts within the European judicial system

Abstract:

The establishment of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal and the Community Patent Court currently under consideration represent the first utilisation of the possibility provided for in Art.225a ECT to establish specialised judicial panels for specific areas as courts of first instance. Consequently, the judicial system within the EU will change from the current two-tier system into a three-tier system. This in turn will transform the role of the CFI into a court of appeal vis-à-vis the specialised courts, while at the same time the ECJ will be able to concentrate on the cases involving fundamental constitutional aspects.