Luxembourg, 06/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - Leif Sevón, a Judge of Finnish nationality at the European Court of Justice, has been appointed president of the Finnish High Court. The magistrate will leave the Court in Luxembourg as soon as his successor has been appointed. Leif Sevón has been at the Court since January 1995, when Finland entered the EU. He was the rapporteur judge in the mad cow affair that opposed the United Kingdom and the Commission (EUROPE of 6 June 1998) and also in the "Jippes" affair concerning European measures to combat the foot and mouth disease (EUROPE of 19 July 2001), the first case to be judged according to "accelerated" procedure.
The departure of any judge means that all the cases in which the judge has been rapporteur - for drafting the ruling - and for which there has already been a hearing of the parties, will be judged as a priority so that the rulings may be given before the judge in question leaves the Court.
Judge Sevón's successor has not yet been designated.