Will litigants suffer because of ineffective changes to the Court of Justice of the European Union?
4 March 2013
On Wednesday 6 March, the Lords Justice, Institutions and Consumer Protection EU-Sub Committee will question David Lidington, Minister for Europe, on the amendments made to the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union
The Sub-Committee conducted an inquiry into the workload of the Court in March 2011, raising concerns about the impact that delays in the Court, and the General Court in particular, were having on litigants. The Sub-Committee also considered the pressure that new Member States would bring to the Court’s caseload and the effect that the Treaty of Lisbon will have in the number of cases brought before the Court.
The Sub-Committee will question Mr Lidington on issues including:
- whether the caseload of the Court will be reduced, as has been suggested, now that the amendments have come into force;
- what is the Government's view on the President of the Court of Justice’s request for three more Advocates General and if he is aware of the position of other Member States;
- what the Government think about the impact of appeals in competition decisions being heard at the Court of Justice which allege excessive delay in the General Court as grounds to annul decisions or reduce fines; and
- whether the additional judges to the General Court should be appointed solely on merit rather than their nationality.
The evidence session will take place on Wednesday 6 March at 4pm in Committee Room 1.