Introduction to case law
Created by the Treaty of Rome, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) interprets and applies European Union law as found in the EU treaties and legislation. It offers various means of redress, as laid down in Article 19 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), Articles 251-281 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Article 136 Euratom, and Protocol No 3 annexed to the Treaties on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The court sits in Luxembourg and the working language of the court is French. A case may be brought in any of the official languages of the EU and one language will be designated the language of the case (generally the language of the national court referring the case). English did not become an official EU language until the United Kingdom joined the EU in 1973. The Court of Justice of the European Union is separate and distinct from the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe.
The CJEU has broad jurisdiction in EU matters and its decisions have the force of law in the Member States of the EU. Decisions of the CJEU can override national legislation and decisions of national courts that are deemed contrary to the provisions of EU treaties and legislation.
The CJEU consists of two courts: The Court of Justice and the General Court.
The Court of Justice has exclusive jurisdiction over actions between the institutions and those brought by a Member State against the European Parliament and/or against the Council.
The General Court , created in 1989 to relieve the case load of the ECJ, (and which was known as the Court of First Instance prior to 2010), has jurisdiction, at first instance, in all other actions of this type, particularly in actions brought by individuals and those brought by a Member State against the Commission.
Read more about the competencies of the court here.
Official Publications
- CURIACuria is the official website for the European Court of Justice and the General Court (known as the Court of First Instance prior to 2010). It provides a description of the institutions, their history and composition. It also provides access to the decisions of both courts. The Case Law page provides access to a search form, lists of the cases decided by both the European Court of Justice and the General Court, fact sheets and annotations. Decisions since June 1997 are available on the Web and full text searching is possible for both courts. Decisions are available by case number since the European Court of Justice's inception in 1953. After 1989, case numbers for the European Court of Justice begin with "C-". Decisions of the General Court and its predecessor, The Court of First Instance are available by case number since the Court's inception in 1989. Case numbers for the General Court/Court of First Instance begin with "T-".
- Reports of cases before the Court of Justice and the General Court (e-resource)The official reporter of cases before the CJEU from 1990 to present.
- Reports of cases before the court (e-resource)The official reporter of cases before the CJEU from 1954 to 1989.
Reports of cases before the court by Call Number: KJE924.5 .R471The library has reports from 1959-1990; 1991:1-10; 1992:1-10; 1993-1996,1997:1,3-12; 1998-2004,2005:2,3B-12; 2006:1-10B,12; 2007-2011:11/12- Annual report : synopsis of the work of the Court of Justice and of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities. by Call Number: KJE5461 .C682Publication Date: 1995-This resource provides information of the activities of the Court of Justice and the General Court. There are summaries of the cases heard, information of the current judges and changes in the membership over the year. Detailed statistical information is presented relating to numbers and types of cases heard by each court.
- Annual report of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CURIA)CURIA provides online access to the case summaries and statistics from the Annual Reports.
- Case-Law Search (EUR-Lex)Provides access to case law of the CJEU, including additional legal analysis and links to related information.
Finding aids for EU case law by subject
The European Court of Justice makes available the following sources on its website.
- Digest of the case-lawAvailable in French only.
- Annotations of judgementsAvailable in French only.
- Fact sheetsDocuments analyzing the legislation, case-law or state of positive law on a given subject.
Electronic Databases for Case Law
- Case-Law Search (EUR-Lex)Provides access to case law of the CJEU, including additional legal analysis and links to related information.
- Westlaw EU materialsWestlaw's EU section contains materials relating to case law, legislation, originating treaties and regulations. The database includes EU treaties since 1951, legislation since 1952, preparatory acts since 1974, and parliamentary questions since 1992. Case law dates back to 1954 for the European Court of Justice and 1989 for the General Court (and its predecessor, The Court of First Instance). There is access to periodical articles, and updates of current awareness materials. Currency within the databases varies, but Westlaw generally updates within 24 hours of publication.