Luxembourg, 29/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Court of Justice awaits to know the fate reserved for the judges whose term of office expires in October 2003 before beginning the major manoeuvres for the election of its new president this autumn. The current president, Gil Rodriguez Iglesias, who has held office since 1994, has announced he will be leaving on 6 October 2003 (see EUROPE of 9 January 2003, p.13). The new president will be elected from among the fifteen judges who make up the Court. The post is a key post in that it manages the entry of the ten new EU Member States into the European judiciary system from spring 2004. The "winning trio", observers say, are the Belgian and French judges and one "outsider", from Greece.
Like his predecessors, the tenth President of the Court should have a good knowledge of European law and, above all, of the "house". In other terms, he must be a long-standing member, observers say. This, they consider, would immediately rule out the Finnish judge, Allan Rosas, who has only held office since 1 January 2002, and the Irish judge, Fidelma Macken, who arrived in October 1999, even if, as is likely, their respective Member States renew their mandate for six years this year.
Among the judges whose term of office does not expire until 2006, there are Christiaan Timmermans (Netherlands), Ninon Colneric (Germany), Stig von Bahr (Sweden) and José Narciso da Cunha Rodriguez (Portugal), all appointed judges in 2000. They, too, would not have the experience required for the post.
The name of Claus Gulmann, born in 1942, Advocate General from 1991 to 1994 and Judge since 1994, is cited among the "veterans". There is, however, one condition: Denmark should renew its mandate in October this year. To his disadvantage is the fact that the president of the Court of First Instance, Bo Vesterdorf, is also of Danish nationality, which would entail "over-representation" of the Danish in key posts within European jurisdictions. It should be noted that Austrian national Peter Iann, born in 1935 and a judge since 1995, and Antonio La Pergola, born in 1931 and at the Court since 1994, are to remain until 2006.
By elimination, two judges are presented as serious candidates. Firstly, Belgian Melchior Wathelet, born in 1949 and a judge since 1995, although Belgium would have to renew its six-year mandate in the autumn. This is not an obstacle standing in the way of French Judge Jean-Pierre Puissochet, born in 1936 and a judge at the Court since 1994, whose term of office does not expire until 2006.
An "outsider": the Greek Judge
Observers, however, see an "outsider" in the running: Greek national Vassilios Skouris, born in 1948, and a judge at the Court since 1999. Mr Skouris enjoys a good "international" image due to his university diplomas and part of his career in German universities. Observers note that, since 1981, the date when it entered the European Community, Greece has not had a president at the head of a European institution. At the Court, two of the three Greek judges died during their term of office: Alexandros Chloros (1981-1982) and Krateros Ioannou (1997-1999). When Constantinos Kakouris was a judge, between 1983 and 1997, his peers had chosen as president British Alexander Mackensie Stuart (1984-1988), Danish Ole Due (1988-1994) and the current president, Spanish national Gil Rodriguez Iglesias.
It should finally be noted that the British daily, The Times of London, noted the departure of British Judge David Edward at the end of the year, just three years before the end of his mandate. Born in 1934, David Edward was judge at the Court of First Instance from 1989 then at the Court of Justice from 1992. The British judge's private office refused all comment.