23/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Court of Justice welcomes a reduction in the duration of legal proceedings in 2006 despite a 13% rise in the number of cases lodged. The average duration of proceedings for references for a preliminary ruling now stands at 19.8 months, direct actions 20 months and appeals 17.8 months. Not counting the 117 cases transferred to the Civil Service Tribunal in 2005, the Court of First Instance has seen a marked increase in the number of cases lodged, from 291 in 2005 to 387 in 2006. Overall, however, not including transferred cases, 436 cases were disposed of in 2006 compared with 493 in 2005. The average duration of proceedings increased slightly last year despite use of the expedited procedure. In 2006, its first full year of operation, the Civil Service Tribunal brought 53 cases to a close, ten of them through annulments. Proportionately, there was a fairly high number of annulments as the Civil Service Tribunal is trying to facilitate the amicable settlement of disputes at all stages of the procedure. (cd)