On Tuesday 19 September, the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs voted unanimously in favour of the reform of the Court of Justice of the European Union proposed by the latter in the spring (see EUROPE 13177/12).
The aim of the reform is twofold: - transferring preliminary rulings in a number of areas (VAT and excise duties, customs, air passenger compensation, the greenhouse gas Emissions Trading System) to the General Court in order to reduce the European Court of Justice’s workload by around 20%; - extending the appeal mechanism to new cases.
MEPs want to ensure that the Court continues to be responsible for ruling on preliminary questions relating to primary EU law, according to a European Parliament press release. They call for Parliament to be able to submit statements to the Court at any time, i.e. even if an act it has adopted is not at stake, and for a structured dialogue to be established with the Court with a view to improving the European judicial system.
They also invite the Court to report back, 3 years after the reform, to assess its implementation. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)