Brussels, 11/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - A few days ahead of the ruling on the Pequenos Agricultores ruling on 25 July when the Court of Justice will deciding whether individuals can have access to EU courts, commentary is running rife. Legal circles say the Court of Justice may rule that it is not up to judges to substitute for the European Convention to change Treaty rules (Article 230) on citizens' access to court, thereby rejecting the views of Advocate-General Francis Jacob and cancelling out the efforts of the Court of First Instance, which had both argued (to differing degrees) that citizens should have real access to EU justice (see Europe of 8 July, p.15).
According to some experts the fact that the ruling will be made bang in the middle of the Court's summer holidays is due to the fact that the Court does not want to leave the people seeking justice and the Court of First Instance in the dark. The Court of First Instance seems to be awaiting the ruling with interest. It has not issued any orders recently about the admissibility of individuals' or companies' appeals against the European institutions.