Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2019 amending Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union

Summary:

Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2019 - adopted by the co-legislators on 11 April 2024 - introducing amendments to Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

Further information:

The amendments comprise the transfer of preliminary rulings in specific areas to the jurisdiction of the General Court. They also extend the existing filtering mechanism for appeals against decisions of the General Court when they concern a decision of an EU body, office or agency with an independent board of appeal. The reform also seeks to increase the transparency of proceedings concerning requests for preliminary rulings.

The request for the amendments to Protocol 3 was submitted by the Court of Justice of the European Union on 30 November 2022. The European Commission adopted its Opinion on the proposal on 10 March 2023. The Council of the European Union adopted a general approach to it in May 2023. The European Parliament's relevant committee adopted a negotiating position on 18 September. Following talks between the four institutions, a compromise agreement was reached on 7 December. This was formally endorsed by the Parliament on 27 February 2024 and by the Council on 19 March. The Act was signed by the co-legislators on 11 April 2024 and published in the Official Journal on 12 August 2024.

On 9 October 2024, the CJEU published a set of recommendations aimed at national courts and tribunals in relation to the initiation of preliminary ruling proceedings in light of the amendments to Protocol 3.

Official

Publications Office of the EU: EU Law Tracker: Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2019 amending Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union https://law-tracker.europa.eu/procedure/2022_906?lang=en

European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: Procedure File for Proposal on Statute of the Court of Justice: amendment of Protocol No 3 (2022/0906(COD)) https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2022/0906(COD)

European Parliament: Legislative Train Schedule: Amendment of Protocol 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union in order to transfer preliminary reference in certain legal areas to the General Court and to extend the leave for appeal requirement https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-legal-affairs-juri/file-reform-of-the-statute-of-the-court-of-justice

EUR-LEX: COM(2023)135: Commission Opinion on the draft amendment to Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, presented by the Court of Justice on 30 November 2022 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2023:135:FIN

Council of the European Union: Press Release, 07/12/2023: Reform of the Statute of the Court of Justice: Council and Parliament negotiators reach provisional agreement https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/12/07/reform-of-the-statute-of-the-court-of-justice-council-and-parliament-negotiators-reach-provisional-agreement/

Council of the European Union: Press Release, 19/03/2024: Reform of the Statute of the Court of Justice adopted https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/03/19/reform-of-the-statute-of-the-court-of-justice-adopted/

EUR-LEX: OJ C Series, 09/10/2024: Recommendations to national courts and tribunals in relation to the initiation of preliminary ruling proceedings http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/6008/oj

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Commentary and Analysis

Article19: Resources, 17/07/2023: EU Court of Justice: Reform should mandate access to documents https://www.article19.org/resources/court-justice-reform-mandate-access-documents/

Article19: Resources, 15/09/2023: European Union: Court’s reform a chance for open justice https://www.article19.org/resources/european-union-courts-reform-a-chance-for-open-justice/

European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL): Blog, 21/12/2023: Reform of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union https://eapil.org/2023/12/21/reform-of-the-statute-of-the-court-of-justice-of-the-european-union/

European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS): Briefing, 07/02/2024: Amending the Statute of the Court of Justice of the EU: Reform of the preliminary reference procedure https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2023)754559

eucrim: News, 17/05/2024: Reform of CJEU Statute Adopted https://eucrim.eu/news/reform-of-cjeu-statute-adopted/

White&Case: Alerts, 13/06/2024: ECJ reform reduces judicial protection against substantial decisions of the SRB and the ESAs to one instance https://www.whitecase.com/insight-alert/ecj-reform-reduces-judicial-protection-against-substantial-decisions-srb-and-esas-one

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer: Briefings, 23/08/2024: Reform of EU court rules: Preliminary ruling proceedings before the EGC, more appeals subject to permission, and a (small) step towards greater transparency https://www.freshfields.com/en-gb/our-thinking/knowledge/briefing/2024/08/reform-of-eu-court-rules--preliminary-ruling-proceedings-before-the-egc--more-appeals-subject-to-permission-and-a-small-step-towards-greater-transparency/

IPKat Blog, 02/09/2024: The CJEU reform and its impact on IP matters https://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-cjeu-reform-and-its-impact-on-ip.html

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