Court of Justice and Court of First Instance of the European Communities

Composition

The Court is made up of 27 judges and 8 advocates-general, appointed by common accord of the governments of the Member States for a renewable term of six years.

They are from the ranks of lawyers whose independence is beyond doubt and who possess the qualifications required for appointment to the highest judicial offices in their respective countries or who are of recognised competence.

The advocates-general assist the Court in accomplishing its tasks. They are responsible for presenting in open court, acting with complete impartiality and independence, reasoned submissions on cases which require their involvement. Their function is not to be confused with that of a public prosecutor or any similar office.

The Court of First Instance comprises at least one judge from each Member State. The judges are appointed by common accord of the governments of the Member States for a term of six years and are chosen from the ranks of those whose independence is beyond doubt and who possess the qualifications required for occupying a high judicial office.

In addition, the Treaty of Nice provides for the possibility of creating judicial panels attached to the Court of First Instance which amount to specialist tribunals to hear cases in specific areas.

Powers

It is the responsibility of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance to ensure that the law is observed in the interpretation and application of the Treaties establishing the European Communities and of the provisions laid down by the competent Community institutions.

The Courts exercise judicial powers in actions of various types:

· actions for infringement of Community law (brought against Member States in the event of the infringement of obligations imposed on them by the treaties),

· actions for annulment (of instruments adopted by the Community institutions),

· actions for failure to act (against a Community institution that has failed to take action),

· actions for damages (for making good losses caused by an illegal act or failure to act by a Community institution),

· actions concerning contractual liability (disputes concerning public-law or private-law contracts concluded by the Community),

· staff actions (disputes between the Community and its officials and other servants),

· requests for preliminary rulings (at the request of courts in the Member States, the Court of Justice or the Court of First Instance give rulings on the interpretation of Community law or on the validity of acts adopted by the institutions or by the European Central Bank).

The Court of Justice hears actions brought by the Community institutions or by the Member States against acts of the institutions or wrongdoing by the Member States. It has jurisdiction to hear requests for preliminary rulings, except in specific fields where jurisdiction has been given to the Court of First Instance. The Court of First Instance deals with actions brought by natural and legal persons against decisions taken by the Community institutions. Appeals against rulings by the Court of First Instance, on points on law only, can be brought before the Court of Justice.

European Court of Auditors

Composition

The Court of Auditors is made up of one national from each Member State, chosen from the ranks of those who, in their respective countries, work or have worked for an auditing institution or are particularly qualified for that work and whose independence is beyond doubt. The members of the Court of Auditors are appointed by the Council, acting by qualified majority after consulting the European Parliament, for a term of six years.

Powers

The Court of Auditors is responsible for examining all revenue or expenditure accounts of the Community or any Community body, in order to ensure that the EU spends its money in accordance with budgetary rules and regulations and respecting administrative and accounting principles. Its task is to ensure the soundness of financial management.

Subject of the audits of the Court of Auditors are the Community institutions and the Member States, as well as anybody managing revenue or expenditure on behalf of the Community and any natural or legal person in receipt of payments from the Community budget. Audits in the Member States are carried out in collaboration with the competent national bodies or departments, which are obliged to forward any document or information requested by the Court of Auditors.

The Court of Auditors provides the Council and the European Parliament annually with a statement of assurance regarding the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. An annual report presenting the Court’s observations on the management of Community finances is forwarded to the Community institutions and published in the Official Journal. The report highlights those areas in which improvements are possible, and even desirable. The institutions’ replies to the Court’s observations are also published in the Official Journal.

The Court of Auditors also has advisory powers. The other EU institutions may in certain cases ask the Court of Auditors for its opinion.

Finally, the Court may comment on specific issues in the form of special reports which are also published in the Official Journal.