1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B RULES OFPROCEDURE OFTHE COURT OFJUSTICE OFTHE EUROPEAN COMMU-
NITIES OF19 JUNE 1991
(OJ L 176, 4.7.1991, p. 7)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice of the
European Communities of 19 June 1991L 44 61 28.2.1995
►M2Decision of the Court of Justice amending Annex II to the Rules of
ProcedureL 103 3 19.4.1997
►M3Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice of the
European CommunitiesL 103 1 19.4.1997
►M4Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice of 16
May 2000L 122 43 24.5.2000
►M5Amendments to the Rules of procedure of the Court of Justice of 28
November 2000L 322 1 19.12.2000
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 383, 29.12.1992, p. 117 (704/91)
►C2Corrigendum, OJ L 351, 23.12.1997, p. 72 (419/97)
NB: This consolidated version contains references to the European unit of account and/or the ecu, which from 1 January 1999
should be understood as references to the euro — Council Regulation (EEC) No 3308/80 (OJ L 345, 20.12.1980, p. 1) andCouncil Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).
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RULES OFPROCEDURE OFTHE COURT OFJUSTICE OF
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES OF19 JUNE 1991
CONTENTS
Interpretation (Article 1)Title I — Organization of the Court
Chapter 1 — Judges and Advocates-General (Articles 2 to 6)Chapter 2 — Presidency of the Court and constitution of the Chambers
(Articles 7 to 11)
Chapter 3 — Registry
Section 1 — The Registrar and Assistant Registrars (Articles 12 to 19)
Section 2 — Other departments (Articles 20 to 23)
Chapter 4 — Assistant Rapporteurs (Article 24)Chapter 5 — The working of the Court (Articles 25 to 28)
Chapter 6 — Languages (Articles 29 to 31)
Chapter 7 — Rights and obligations of agents, advisers and lawyers (Arti-
cles 32 to 36)
Title II — Procedure
Chapter 1 — Written procedure (Articles 37 to 44a)Chapter 2 — Preparatory inquiries
Section 1 — Measures of inquiry (Articles 45 and 46)
Section 2 — The summoning and examination of witnesses and experts
(Articles 47 to 53)
Section 3 — Closure of the preparatory inquiry (Article 54)
Chapter 3 — Oral procedure (Articles 55 to 62)
Chapter 4 — Judgments (Articles 63 to 68)Chapter 5 — Costs (Articles 69 to 75)Chapter 6 — Legal aid (Article 76)Chapter 7 — Discontinuance (Articles 77 and 78)
Chapter 8 — Service (Article 79)
Chapter 9 — ►
C1Time-limits ◄(Articles 80 to 82)
Chapter 10 — Stay of proceedings (Article 82a)
Title III — Special forms of procedure
Chapter 1 — Suspension of operation or enforcement and other interim
measures (Articles 83 to 90)
Chapter 2 — Preliminary issues (Articles 91 and 92)Chapter 3 — Intervention (Article 93)
Chapter 4 — Judgments by default and applications to set them aside
(Article 94)
Chapter 5 — Cases assigned to Chambers (Article 95)Chapter 6 — Exceptional review proceedings
Section 1 — Third-party proceedings (Article 97)Section 2 — Revision (Articles 98 to 100)
Chapter 7 — Appeals against decisions of the Arbitration Committee
(Article 101)
Chapter 8 — Interpretation of judgments (Article 102)
Chapter 9 — Preliminary rulings and other references for interpretation
(Articles 103 and 104)
Chapter 10 — Special procedures under Articles 103 to 105 of the Euratom
Treaty (Articles 105 and 106)1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 2
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Chapter 11 — Opinions (Articles 107 to 109)
Title IV — Appeals against decisions of the Court of First Instance (Arti-
cles 110 to 123)
Title V — Procedures provided for by the EEA Agreement (Articles 123a
and 123b)
Miscellaneous provisions (Articles 124 to 127)Annex I — Decision on official holidays
Annex II — Decision on ►
C1extension of time-limits ◄on account of
distance1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 3
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THE COURT OF JUSTICE,
Having regard to the powers conferred on the Court of Justice by the
Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, theTreaty establishing the European Economic Community and the Treaty
establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom),
Having regard to Article 55 of the Protocol on the Statute of the Court
of Justice of the European Coal and Steel Community,
Having regard to the third paragraph of Article 188 of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to the third paragraph of Article 160 of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom),
Whereas it is necessary to revise the text of its Rules of Procedure in
the various languages in order to ensure coherence and uniformitybetween those language versions;
With the unanimous approval of that revision, given by the Council on
29 April 1991;
And whereas, after the numerous amendments to its Rules of Proce-
dure, it is necessary, in the interests of clarity and simplicity to
establish a coherent authentic text,
With the unanimous approval of the Council, given on 7 June 1991,
REPLACES ITS RULES OF PROCEDURE BY THE FOLLOWING RULES:
INTERPRETATION
Article 1
In these Rules:
— ‘Union Treaty’ means the Treaty on European Union,
— ‘EC Treaty’ means the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity,
— ‘EC Statute’ means the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of
Justice of the European Community,
— ‘ECSC Treaty’ means the Treaty establishing the European Coal
and Steel Community,
— ‘ECSC Statute’ means the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of
Justice of the European Coal and Steel Community,
— ‘Euratom Treaty’ means the Treaty establishing the European
Atomic Energy Community (Euratom),
— ‘Euratom Statute’ means the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of
Justice of the European Atomic Energy Community,
— ‘EEA Agreement’ means the Agreement on the European Economic
Area.
For the purposes of these Rules:
— ‘Institutions’ means the institutions of the Communities and bodies
which are established by the Treaties, or by an act adopted in
implementation thereof, and which may be parties before the Court,
— ‘EFTA Surveillance Authority’ means the surveillance authority
referred to in the EEA Agreement.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 4
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TITLEI
ORGANIZATION OFTHE COURT
Chapter 1
JUDGES AND ADVOCATES-GENERAL
Article 2
The term of office of a Judge shall begin on the date laid down in his
instrument of appointment. In the absence of any provisions regardingthe date, the term shall begin on the date of the instrument.
Article 3
1. Before taking up his duties, a Judge shall at the first public sitting
of the Court which he attends after his appointment take the following
oath:
‘I swear that I will perform my duties impartially and conscien-
tiously; I swear that I will preserve the secrecy of thedeliberations of the Court’.
2. Immediately after taking the oath, a Judge shall sign a declaration
by which he solemnly undertakes that, both during and after his term ofoffice, he will respect the obligations arising therefrom, and in parti-cular the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the
acceptance, after he has ceased to hold office, of certain appointments
and benefits.
Article 4
When the Court is called upon to decide whether a Judge no longer
fulfils the requisite conditions or no longer meets the obligationsarising from his office, the President shall invite the Judge concerned
to make representations to the Court, in closed session and in the
absence of the Registrar.
Article 5
Articles 2, 3 and 4 of these Rules shall apply ►
C1 ◄to
Advocates-General.
Article 6
Judges and Advocates-General shall rank equally in precedence
according to their seniority in office.
Where there is equal seniority in office, precedence shall be determined
by age.
Retiring Judges and Advocates-General who are reappointed shall
retain their former precedence.
Chapter 2
PRESIDENCY OF THE COURT AND CONSTITUTION OF THE CHAM-
BERS
Article 7
1. The Judges shall, immediately after the partial replacement
provided for in ►M1Article►M4223◄of the EC Treaty, Article
32b of the ECSC Treaty and Article 139 of the Euratom Treaty, ◄
elect one of their number as President of the Court for a term of threeyears.
2. If the office of the President of the Court falls vacant before the
normal date of expiry thereof, the Court shall elect a successor for theremainder of the term.
3. The elections provided for in this Article shall be by secret ballot.
If a Judge obtains an absolute majority he shall be elected. If no Judge1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 5
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obtains an absolute majority, a second ballot shall be held and the
Judge obtaining the most votes shall be elected. Where two or moreJudges obtain an equal number of votes the oldest of them shall be
deemed elected.
Article 8
The President shall direct the judicial business and the administration
of the Court; he shall preside at hearings and deliberations.
Article 9
1. The Court shall set up Chambers in accordance with the provi-
sions of►
M1the second paragraph of Article ►M4221◄of the
EC Treaty, the second paragraph of Article 32 of the ECSC Treatyand the second paragraph of Article 137 of the Euratom Treaty ◄
and shall decide which Judges shall be attached to them.
The composition of the Chambers shall be published in the Official
Journalofthe EuropeanCommunities .
2. As soon as an application initiating proceedings has been lodged,
the President ►
C1of the Court ◄shall assign the case to one of the
Chambers for any preparatory inquiries and shall designate a Judgefrom that Chamber to act as Rapporteur.
3. The Court shall lay down criteria by which, as a rule, cases are to
be assigned to Chambers.
4. These Rules shall apply to proceedings before the Chambers.In cases assigned to a Chamber the powers of the President of the
Court shall be exercised by the President of the Chamber.
Article 10
1. The Court shall appoint for a period of one year the Presidents of
the Chambers and the First Advocate-General.
The provisions of Article 7 (2) and (3) shall apply.Appointments made in pursuance of this paragraph shall be published
in theOfficial Journalofthe EuropeanCommunities .
2. The First Advocate-General shall assign each case to an Advo-
cate-General as soon as the Judge-Rapporteur has been designated bythe President. He shall take the necessary steps if an Advocate-Generalis absent or prevented from acting.
Article 11
When the President of the Court is absent or prevented from attending
or when the office of President is vacant, the functions of President
shall be exercised by a President of a Chamber according to the order
of precedence laid down in Article 6 of these Rules.
If the President of the Court and the ►
C1Presidents of the
Chambers ◄are all prevented from attending at the same time, or
their posts are vacant at the same time, the functions of President shallbe exercised by one of the other Judges according to the order of
precedence laid down in Article 6 of these Rules.
Chapter 3
REGISTRY
Section 1 — The Registrar and ►C1 Assistant Registrars ◄
Article 12
1. The Court shall appoint the Registrar. Two weeks before the date
fixed for making the appointment, the President shall inform theMembers of the Court of the applications which have been made forthe post.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 6
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2. An application shall be accompanied by full details of the candi-
date's age, nationality, university degrees, knowledge of any languages,present and past occupations and experience, if any, in judicial and
international fields.
3. The appointment shall be made following the procedure laid
down in Article 7 (3) of these Rules.
4. The Registrar shall be appointed for a term of six
►
C1years◄. He may be reappointed.
5. The Registrar shall take the oath in accordance with Article 3 of
these Rules.
6. The Registrar may be deprived of his office only if he no longer
fulfils the requisite conditions or no longer meets the obligationsarising from his office; the Court shall take its decision after givingthe Registrar an opportunity to make representations.
7. If the office of Registrar falls vacant before the normal date of
expiry of the term thereof, the Court shall appoint a new Registrar fora term of six years.
Article 13
The Court may, following the procedure laid down in respect of the
Registrar, appoint one or more Assistant Registrars to assist the Regis-trar and to take his place in so far as the Instructions to the Registrarreferred in Article 15 of these Rules allow.
Article 14
Where the Registrar and the ►
C1Assistant Registrars ◄are absent
or prevented from attending or their posts are vacant, the Presidentshall designate an official ►
C1or other servant ◄to carry out
►C1 ◄the duties of Registrar.
Article 15
Instructions to the Registrar shall be adopted by the Court acting on a
proposal from the President.
Article 16
1. There shall be kept in the Registry, under the control of the
Registrar, a register initialled by the President, in which all pleadingsand supporting documents shall be entered in the order in which theyare lodged.
2. When a document has been registered, the Registrar shall make a
note to that effect on the original and, if a party so requests, on anycopy submitted for the purpose.
3. Entries in the register and the notes provided for in the preceding
paragraph shall be authentic.
4. Rules for keeping the register shall be prescribed by the Instruc-
tions to the Registrar referred to in Article 15 of ►
C1these Rules ◄.
5. Persons having an interest may consult the register at the Registry
and may obtain copies or extracts on payment of a charge on a scale
fixed by the Court on a proposal from the Registrar.
The parties to a case may on payment of the appropriate charge also
obtain copies of pleadings and authenticated copies of judgments andorders.
6. Notice shall be given in the Official Journal of the European
Communities of the date of registration of an application initiating
proceedings, the names and addresses of the parties, the subject-matterof the proceedings, the form of order sought by the applicant and asummary of the pleas in law and of the main supporting arguments.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 7
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7. Where the Council or the Commission is not a party to a case, the
Court shall send to it copies of the application and of the defence,without the annexes thereto, to enable it to assess whether the inapplic-
ability of one of its acts is being invoked under ►
M1Article
►M4241◄of the EC Treaty, third paragraph of Article 36 of the
ECSC Treaty or Article 156 of the Euratom Treaty. ◄
Article 17
1. The Registrar shall be responsible, under the authority of the
President, for the acceptance, transmission and custody of documents
and for effecting service as provided for by these Rules.
2. The Registrar shall assist the Court, the Chambers, the President
and the Judges in all their official functions.
Article 18
The Registrar shall have custody of the seals. He shall be responsible
for the records and be in charge of the publications of the Court.
Article 19
Subject to Articles 4 and 27 of these Rules, the Registrar shall attend
the sittings of the Court and of the Chambers.
Section 2 — Other departments
Article 20
1. The ►C1officials ◄and other servants of the Court shall be
appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Staff Regulations.
2. Before taking up his duties, an official shall take the following
oath before the President, in the presence of the Registrar:
‘I swear that I will perform loyally, discreetly and conscientiously
the duties assigned to me by the Court of Justice of the EuropeanCommunities’.
Article 21
The organization of the departments of the Court shall be laid down,
and may be modified, by the Court on a proposal from the Registrar.
Article 22
The Court shall set up a translating service staffed by experts with
adequate legal training and a thorough knowledge of several official
languages of the Court.
Article 23
The Registrar shall be responsible, under the authority of the President,
for the administration of the Court, its financial management and itsaccounts; he shall be assisted in this by an administrator.
Chapter 4
ASSISTANT RAPPORTEURS
Article 24
1. Where the Court is of the opinion that the consideration of
►C1,◄and preparatory inquiries in ►C1,◄cases before it so
require, it shall, pursuant to ►M1Article 12 of the EC Statute, Article
16 of the ECSC Statute and Article 12 of the Euratom Statute ◄,
propose the appointment of Assistant Rapporteurs.
2. Assistant Rapporteurs shall in particular assist the President in
connection withapplications for th e adoption of interim measures andassist the Judge-Rapporteurs in their work.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 8
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3. In the performance of their duties the Assistant Rapporteurs shall
be responsible to the President of the Court, the President of aChamber or a Judge-Rapporteur, as the case may be.
4. Before taking up his duties, an Assistant Rapporteur shall take
before the Court the oath set out in Article 3 of these Rules.
Chapter 5
THE WORKING OF THE COURT
Article 25
1. The dates and times of the sittings of the Court shall be fixed by
the President.
2. The dates and times of the sittings of the Chambers shall be fixed
by their respective Presidents.
3. The Court and the Chambers may choose to hold one or more
sittings in a place other than that in which the Court has its seat.
Article 26
1. Where, by reason of a Judge being absent or prevented from
attending, there is an even number of Judges, the most junior Judge
within the meaning of Article 6 of these Rules shall abstain from
taking part in the deliberations unless he is the Judge-Rapporteur. Inthat case the Judge immediately senior to him shall abstain from takingpart in the deliberations.
2. If, after the Court has been convened, it is found that the quorum
referred to in Article 15 of the EC Statute, Article 18 of the ECSCStatute and Article 15 of the Euratom Statute has not been attained,the President shall adjourn the sitting until there is a quorum.
3. If, in any Chamber, the quorum referred to in Article 15 of the
EC Statute, Article 18 of the ECSC Statute and Article 15 of the
Euratom Statute has not been attained, the President of that Chamber
shall so inform the President of the Court, who shall designate anotherJudge to complete the Chamber.
Article 27
1. The Court and Chambers shall deliberate in closed session.
2. Only those Judges who were present at the oral proceedings and
the Assistant Rapporteur, if any, entrusted with the consideration of the
case may take part in the deliberations.
3. Every Judge taking part in the deliberations shall state his opinion
and the reasons for it.
4. Any Judge may require that any questions be formulated in the
language of his choice and communicated in writing to the Court or
Chamber before being put to the vote.
5. The conclusions reached by the majority of the Judges after final
discussion shall determine the decision of the Court. Votes shall be castin reverse order to the order of precedence laid down in Article 6 ofthese Rules.
6. Differences of view on the substance, wording or order of ques-
tions, or on the interpretation of the voting shall be settled by decisionof the Court or Chamber.
7. Where the deliberations of the Court concern questions of its own
administration, the Advocates-General shall take part and have a vote.The Registrar shall be present, unless the Court decides to the contrary.
8. Where the ►
C1Court◄sits without the Registrar being
present it shall, if necessary, instruct the most junior Judge within the1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 9
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meaning of Article 6 of these ►C1Rules◄to draw up minutes. The
minutes shall be signed by ►C1that Judge ◄and by the President.
Article 28
1. Subject to any special decision of the Court, its vacations shall be
as follows:
— from 18 December to 10 January,
— from the Sunday before Easter to the second Sunday after Easter,— from 15 July to 15 September.
During the vacations, the functions of President shall be exercised at
the place where the Court has its seat either by the President himself,keeping in touch with the Registrar, or by a President of Chamber or
other Judge invited by the President to take his place.
2. In a case of urgency, the President may convene the Judges and
the Advocates-General during the vacations.
3. The Court shall observe the official holidays of the place where it
has its seat.
4. The Court may, in proper circumstances, grant leave of absence
to any Judge or Advocate-General.
Chapter 6
LANGUAGES
Article 29
1. The language of a case shall be Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish,
French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish or Swedish.
2. The language of the case shall be chosen by the applicant, except
that:
(a) where the defendant is a Member State or a natural or legal person
having the nationality of a Member State, the language of the caseshall be the official language of that State; where that State has
more than one official language, the applicant may choose between
them;
(b) at the joint request of the parties, the use of another of the
languages mentioned in paragraph1 for all or part of th e proceed-
ings may be authorized;
(c) at the request of one of the parties, and after the opposite party and
the Advocate-General have been heard, the use of another of thelanguages mentioned in paragraph 1 as the language of the casefor all or part of the proceedings may be authorized by way of
derogation from subparagraphs (a) and (b); such a request may not
be submitted by an institution of the European Communities.
In cases to which Article 103 of these Rules applies, the language of
the case shall be the language of the national court or tribunal whichrefers the matter to the Court. At the duly substantiated request of oneof the parties to the main proceedings, and after the opposite party and
the Advocate-General have been heard, the use of another of the
languages mentioned in paragraph 1 may be authorized for the oralprocedure.
Requests as above may be decided on by the President; the latter may
and, where he wishes to accede to a request without the agreement ofall the parties, must refer the request to the Court.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 10
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3. The language of the case shall ►C1in particular ◄be used in
the written and oral pleadings of the parties and in supporting docu-ments, and also in the minutes and decisions of the Court.
Any supporting documents expressed in another language must be
accompanied by a translation into the language of the case.
In the case of lengthy documents, translations may be confined to
extracts. However, the Court or Chamber may, of its own motion orat the request of a party, at any time call for a complete or fuller trans-lation.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, a Member State shall be
entitled to use its official language when intervening in a case beforethe Court or when taking part in any reference of a kind mentioned in
Article 103. This provision shall apply both to written statements and
to oral addresses. The Registrar shall cause any such statement oraddress to be translated into the language of the case.
The States, other than the Member States, which are parties to the EEA
Agreement, and also the EFTA Surveillance Authority, may be author-
ized to use one of the languages mentioned in paragraph 1, other thanthe language of the case, when they intervene in a case before theCourt or participate in preliminary ruling proceedings envisaged byArticle 20 of the EC Statute. This provision shall apply both to writtenstatements and oral addresses. The Registrar shall cause any such state-
ment or address to be translated into the language of the case.
4. Where a witness or expert states that he is unable adequately to
express himself in one of the languages referred to in paragraph (1) ofthis Article, the Court or Chamber may authorize him to give his
evidence in another language. The Registrar shall arrange for transla-
tion into the language of the case.
5. The President of the Court and the Presidents of Chambers in
conducting oral proceedings, the Judge-Rapporteur both in his preli-
minary report and in his report for the hearing, Judges and Advocates-General in putting questions and Advocates-General in delivering theiropinions may use one of the languages referred to in paragraph (1) ofthis Article other than the language of the case. The Registrar shall
arrange for translation into the language of the case.
Article 30
1. The Registrar shall, at the request of any Judge, of the Advocate-
General or of a party, arrange for anything said or written in the courseof the proceedings before the Court or a Chamber to be translated intothe languages he chooses from those referred to in Article 29 (1).
2. Publications of the Court shall be issued in the languages referred
to in Article 1 of Council Regulation No 1.
Article 31
The texts of documents drawn up in the language of the case or in any
other language authorized by the Court pursuant to Article 29 of theserules shall be authentic.
Chapter 7
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF AGENTS, ADVISERS AND LAWYERS
Article 32
1.►M1Agents, advisers and lawyers appearing before the Court
of before any judicial authority to which the Court has addressed lettersrogatory, shall enjoy immunity in respect of words spoken or writtenby them concerning the case or the parties. ◄1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 11
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2. Agents, advisers and lawyers shall enjoy the following further
privileges and facilities:
(a) papers and documents relating to the proceedings shall be exempt
from both search and seizure; in the event of a dispute the customs
officials or police may seal those papers and documents; they shallthen be immediately forwarded to the Court for inspection in thepresence of the Registrar and of the person concerned;
(b) agents, advisers and lawyers shall be entitled to such allocation of
foreign currency as may be necessary for the performance of theirduties;
(c) agents, advisers and lawyers shall be entitled to travel in the course
of duty without hindrance.
Article 33
In order to qualify for the privileges, immunities and facilities specified
in Article 32, persons entitled to them shall furnish proof of their statusas follows:
(a) agents shall produce an official document issued by the party for
whom they act, and shall forward without delay a copy thereof tothe Registrar;
(b) advisers and lawyers shall produce a certificate signed by the
Registrar. The validity of this certificate shall be limited to a speci-fied period, which may be extended or curtailed according to thelengthof th e proceedings.
Article 34
The privileges, immunities and facilities specified in Article 32 of these
Rules are granted exclusively in the interests of the proper conduct ofproceedings.
The Court may waive the immunity where it considers that the proper
conduct of proceedings will not be hindered thereby.
Article 35
1. Any adviser or lawyer whose conduct towards the Court, a
Chamber, a Judge, an Advocate-General or the Registrar is incompa-
tible with the dignity of the Court, or who uses his rights for purposes
other than those for which they were granted, may at any time beexcluded from the proceedings by an order of the Court or Chamber,after the Advocate-General has been heard; the person concerned shallbe given an opportunity to defend himself.
The order shall have immediate effect.2. Where an adviser or lawyer is excluded from the proceedings, the
proceedings shall be suspended for a period fixed by the President in
order to allow the party concerned to appoint another adviser orlawyer.
3. Decisions taken under this Article may be rescinded.
Article 36
The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to university teachers who
have a right of audience before the Court in accordance with►
M1Article 17 of the EC Statute, Article 20 of the ECSC Statute
and Article 17 of the Euratom Statute ◄.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 12
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TITLEII
PROCEDURE
Chapter 1
WRITTEN PROCEDURE
Article 37
1. The original of every pleading must be signed by the party's agent
or lawyer.
The original, accompanied by all annexes referred to therein, shall be
lodged together with five copies for the Court and a copy for every
other party to the proceedings. Copies shall be certified by the partylodging them.
2. Institutions shall in addition produce, within time-limits laid down
by the Court, translations of all pleadings into the other languages
provided for by Article 1 of Council Regulation No 1. The secondsubparagraph of paragraph (1) of this Article shall apply.
3. All pleadings shall bear a date. In the reckoning of time-limits for
taking steps in proceedings, only the date of lodgment at the Registry
shall be taken into account.
4. To every pleading there shall be annexed a file containing the
documents relied on in support of it, together with a schedule listing
them.
5. Where in view of the length of a document only extracts from it
are annexed to the pleading, the whole document or a full copy of itshall be lodged at the Registry.
6. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 5, the date
on which a copy of the signed original of a pleading, including the
schedule of documents referred to in paragraph 4, is received at theRegistry by telefax or other technical means of communication avail-able to the Court shall be deemed to be the date of lodgment for thepurposes of compliance withth e time-limits for taking steps in
proceedings, provided that the signed original of the pleading, accom-
panied by the annexes and copies referred to in the secondsubparagraphof paragraph1 above, is lodged at th e Registry no laterthan ten days thereafter.
Article 38
1. An application of the kind referred to in ►
M1Article 19 of the
EC Statute, Article 22 of the ECSC Statute and Article 19 of the
Euratom Statute ◄shall state:
(a) the name and address of the applicant;
(b) the designation of the party against whom the application is made;
(c) the subject-matter of the proceedings and a summary of the pleas in
law on which the application is based;
(d) the form of order sought by the applicant;
(e) where appropriate, the nature of any evidence offered in support.
2. For the purpose of the proceedings, the application shall state an
address for service in the place where the Court has its seat and the
name of the person who is authorized and has expressed willingness
to accept service.
In addition to, or instead of, specifying an address for service as
referred to in the first subparagraph, the application may state that thelawyer or agent agrees that service is to be effected on him by telefaxor other technical means of communication.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 13
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If the application does not comply ►M5withth e requirements
referred to in the first and second subparagraphs ◄, all service on the
party concerned for the purpose of the proceedings shall be effected,
for so long as the defect has not been cured, by registered letter
addressed to the agent or lawyer of that party. By way of derogationfrom Article 79 ►
M5(1)◄, service shall then be deemed to be
duly effected by the lodging of the registered letter at the post officeof the place where the Court has its seat.
3.►
M1The lawyer acting for a party must lodge at the Registry a
certificate that he is authorized to practise before a court of a MemberState or of another State which is a party to the EEA Agreement. ◄
4. The application shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by the
documents specified ►
M1in the second paragraph of Article 19 of
the EC Statute, in the second paragraph of Article 22 of the ECSCStatute and in the second paragraph of Article 19 of the EuratomStatute◄.
5. An application made by a legal person governed by private law
shall be accompanied by:
(a) the instrument or instruments constituting or regulating that legal
person or a recent extract from the register of companies, firms orassociations or any other proof of its existence in law;
(b) proof that the authority granted to the applicant's lawyer has been
properly conferred on him by someone authorized for the purpose.
6. An application submitted under Articles ►
M1►M4238 and
239◄of the EC Treaty, Articles 42 and 89 of the ECSC Treaty and
Articles 153 and 154 of the Euratom Treaty ◄shall be accompanied
by a copy of the arbitration clause contained in the contract governedby private or public law entered into by the Communities or on theirbehalf, or, as the case may be, by a copy of the special agreement
concluded between the Member States concerned.
7. If an application does not comply withth e requirements set out in
paragraphs (3) to (6) of this Article, the Registrar shall prescribe areasonable period within which the applicant is to comply with themwhether by putting the application itself in order or by producing any
of the abovementioned documents. If the applicant fails to put the
application in order or to produce the required documents within thetime prescribed, the Court shall, after hearing the Advocate-General,decide whether the non-compliance with these conditions renders theapplication formally inadmissible.
Article 39
The application shall be served on the defendant. In a case where
Article 38 (7) applies, service shall be effected as soon as the applica-tion has been put in order or the Court has declared it admissiblenotwithstanding the failure to observe the formal requirements set outin that Article.
Article 40
1. Within one month after service on him of the application, the
defendant shall lodge a defence, stating:
(a) the name and address of the defendant;
(b) the arguments of fact and law relied on;
(c) the form of order sought by the defendant;
(d) the nature of any evidence offered by him.
The provisions af Article 38 (2) to (5) of these Rules shall apply to the
defence.
2. The time-limit laid down in paragraph (1) of this Article may be
extended by the President on a reasoned application by the defendant.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 14
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Article 41
1. The application initiating the proceedings and the defence may be
supplemented by a reply from the applicant and by a rejoinder from thedefendant.
2. The President shall fix the time-limits within which these plead-
ings are to be lodged.
Article 42
1. In reply or rejoinder a party may offer further evidence. The party
must, however, give reasons for the delay in offering it.
2. No new plea in law may be introduced in the course of proceed-
ings unless it is based on matters of law or of fact which come to light
in the course of the procedure.
If in the course of the procedure one of the parties puts forward a new
plea in law which is so based, the President may, even after the expiry
of the normal procedural time-limits, acting on a report of the Judge-
Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate-General, allow the otherparty time to answer on that plea.
The decision on the admissibility of the plea shall be reserved for the
final judgment.
Article 43
The►
C1President ◄may, at any time, after hearing the parties and
the Advocate-General, if the assignment referred to in Article 10 (2)has taken place, order that two or more cases concerning the samesubject-matter shall, on account of the connection between them, bejoined for the purposes of the written or oral procedure or of the finaljudgment. The cases may subsequently be disjoined. ►
M3The Presi-
dent may refer these matters to the Court. ◄
Article 44
1. The President shall fix a date on which the Judge-Rapporteur is to
present his preliminary report to the Court, either
(a) after the rejoinder has been lodged, or
(b) where no reply or no rejoinder has been lodged within the time-
limit fixed in accordance withArticle 41(2), or
(c) where the party concerned has waived his right to lodge a reply or
rejoinder, or
(d) where the expedited procedure referred to in Article 62a is to be
applied, when the President fixes a date for the hearing.
2. The preliminary report shall contain recommendations as to
whether a preparatory inquiry or any other preparatory step should beundertaken and whether the case should be referred to a Chamber. Itshall also contain the Judge-Rapporteur's recommendation, if any, asto the possible omission of the oral part of the procedure as provided
for in Article 44a.
The Court shall decide, after hearing the Advocate General, what
action to take upon the recommendations of the Judge-Rapporteur.
3. Where the Court orders a preparatory inquiry and does not under-
take it itself, it shall assign the inquiry to the Chamber.
Where the Court decides to open the oral procedure without an inquiry,
the President shall fix the opening date.
Article 44a
Without prejudice to any special provisions laid down in these Rules,
the procedure before the Court shall also include an oral part. However,1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 15
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after the pleadings referred to in Article 40(1) and, as the case may be,
in Article 41(1) have been lodged, the Court, acting on a report fromthe Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate-General, and if
none of the parties has submitted an application setting out the reasons
for which he wishes to be heard, may decide otherwise. The applicationshall be submitted within a period of one month from notification tothe party of the close of the written procedure. That period may beextended by the President.
Chapter 2
PREPARATORY INQUIRIES AND OTHER PREPARATORY MEASURES
Section 1 — Measures of inquiry
Article 45
1. The Court, after hearing the Advocate-General, shall prescribe the
measures of inquiry that it considers appropriate by means of an ordersetting out the facts to be proved. Before the Court decides on themeasures of inquiry referred to in paragraph(2) (c), (d) and (e) th e
parties shall be heard.
The order shall be served on the parties.
2. Without prejudice to ►
M1Articles 21 and 22 of the EC Statute,
Articles 24 and 25 of the ECSC Statute or Articles 22 and 23 of theEuratom Statute ◄, the following measures of inquiry may be
adopted:
(a) the personal appearance of the parties;
(b) a request for information and production of documents;
(c) oral testimony;
(d) the commissioning of an expert's report;
(e) an inspection of the place or thing in question.
3. The measures of inquiry which the Court has ordered may be
conducted by the Court itself, or be assigned to the Judge-Rapporteur.
The Advocate-General shall take part in the measures of inquiry.
4. Evidence may be submitted in rebuttal and previous evidence
may be amplified.
Article 46
1. A Chamber to which a preparatory inquiry has been assigned may
exercise the powers vested in the Court by Articles 45 and 47 to 53 of
these Rules; the powers vested in the President of the Court may beexercised by the President of the Chamber.
2. Articles 56 and 57 of ►
C1these Rules ◄shall apply
►C1 ◄to proceedings before the Chamber.
3. The parties shall be entitled to attend the measures of inquiry.
Section 2 — The summoning and examination of witnesses and experts
Article 47
1. The Court may, either of its own motion or an application by a
party, and after hearing the Advocate-General, order that certain factsbe proved by witnesses. The order of the Court shall set out the facts
to be established.
The Court may summon a witness of its own motion or on application
by a party or at the instance of the Advocate-General.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 16
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An application by a party for the examination of a witness shall state
precisely about what facts and for what reasons the witness should beexamined.
2. The witness shall be summoned by an order of the Court
containing the following information:
(a) the surname, forenames, description and address of the witness;
(b) an indication of the facts about which the witness is to be exam-
ined;
(c) where appropriate, particulars of the arrangements made by the
Court for reimbursement of expenses incurred by the witness, and
of the penalties which may be imposed on defaulting witnesses.
The order shall be served on the parties and the witnesses.3. The Court may make the summoning of a witness for whose
examination a party has applied conditional upon the deposit with the
cashier of the Court of a sum sufficient to cover the taxed coststhereof; the Court shall fix the amount of the payment.
The cashier shall advance the funds necessary in connection with the
examination of any witness summoned by the Court of its own motion.
4. After the identity of the witness has been established, the Presi-
dent shall inform him that he will be required to vouch the truth ofhis evidence in the manner laid down in these Rules.
The witness shall give his evidence to the Court, the parties having
been given notice to attend. After the witness has given his mainevidence the President may, at the request of a party or of his ownmotion, put questions to him.
The other Judges and the Advocate-General may do likewise.
Subject to the control of the President, questions may be put to
witnesses by the representatives of the parties.
5. After giving his evidence, the witness shall take the following
oath:
‘I swear that I have spoken the truth, the whole truth and nothing
but the truth.’
The Court may, after hearing the parties, exempt a witness from taking
the oath.
6. The Registrar shall draw up minutes in which the evidence of
eachwitness is reproduced.
The minutes shall be signed by the President or by the Judge-Rappor-
teur responsible for conducting the examination of the witness, and by
the Registrar. Before the minutes are thus signed, witnesses must be
given an opportunity to check the content of the minutes and to signthem.
The minutes shall constitute an official record.
Article 48
1. Witnesses who have been duly summoned shall obey the
summons and attend for examination.
2. If a witness who has been duly summoned fails to appear before
the Court, the Court may impose upon him a pecuniary penalty notexceeding ECU 5 000 and may order that a further summons be servedon the witness at his own expense.
The same penalty may be imposed upon a witness who, without good
reason, refuses to give evidence or to take the oath or where appro-priate to make a solemn affirmation equivalent thereto.
3. If the witness proffers a valid excuse to the Court, the pecuniary
penalty imposed on him may be cancelled. The pecuniary penalty1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 17
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imposed may be reduced at the request of the witness where he estab-
lishes that it is disproportionate to his income.
4. Penalties imposed and other measures ordered under this Article
shall be enforced in accordance with ►M1Articles►M4244 and
256◄of the EC Treaty, Article 44 and 92 of the ECSC Treaty and
Articles 159 and 164 of the Euratom Treaty ◄.
Article 49
1. The Court may order that an expert's report be obtained. The
order appointing the expert shall define his task and set a time-limitwithin which he is to make his report.
2. The expert shall receive a copy of the order, together with all the
documents necessary for carrying out his task. He shall be under thesupervision of the Judge-Rapporteur, who may be present during hisinvestigation and who shall be kept informed of his progress incarrying out his task.
The Court may request the parties or one of them to lodge security for
the costs of the expert's report.
3. At the request of the expert, the Court may order the examination
of witnesses. Their examination shall be carried out in accordance withArticle 47 of these Rules.
4. The expert may give his opinion only on points which have been
expressly referred to him.
5. After the expert has made his report, the Court may order that he
be examined, the parties having been given notice to attend.
Subject to the control of the President, questions may be put to the
expert by the representatives of the parties.
6. After making his report, the expert shall take the following oath
before the Court:
‘I swear that I have conscientiously and impartially carried out my
task.’
The Court may, after hearing the parties, exempt the expert from taking
the oath.
Article 50
1. If one of the parties objects to a witness or to an expert on the
ground that he is not a competent or proper person to act as witness
or expert or for any other reason, or if a witness or expert refuses togive evidence, to take the oath or to make a solemn affirmation equiva-lent thereto, the matter shall be resolved by the Court.
2. An objection to a witness or to an expert shall be raised within
two weeks after service of the order summoning the witness orappointing the expert; the statement of objection must set out thegrounds of objection and indicate the nature of any evidence offered.
Article 51
1. Witnesses and experts shall be entitled to reimbursement of their
travel and subsistence expenses. The cashier of the Court may make a
payment to them towards these expenses in advance.
2. Witnesses shall be entitled to compensation for loss of earnings,
and experts to fees for their services. The cashier of the Court shall
pay witnesses and experts their compensation or fees after they havecarried out their respective duties or tasks.
Article 52
The Court may, on application by a party or of its own motion, issue
letters rogatory for the examination of witnesses or experts, as providedfor in the supplementary rules mentioned in Article 125 of these Rules.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 18
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Article 53
1. The Registrar shall draw up minutes of every hearing. The
minutes shall be signed by the President and by the Registrar and shall
constitute an official record.
2. The parties may inspect the minutes and any expert's report at the
Registry and obtain copies at their own expense.
Section 3 — Closure of the preparatory inquiry
Article 54
Unless the Court prescribes a period within which the parties may
lodge written observations, the President shall fix the date for theopening of the oral procedure after the preparatory inquiry has been
completed.
Where a period had been prescribed for the lodging of written observa-
tions, the President shall fix the date for the opening of the oralprocedure after that period has expired.
Section 4
Article 54a
The Judge-Rapporteur and the Advocate-General may request the
parties to submit within a specified period all such information relating
to the facts, and all such documents or other particulars, as they mayconsider relevant. The information and/or documents provided shall becommunicated to the other parties.
Chapter 3
ORAL PROCEDURE
Article 55
1. Subject to the priority of decisions provided for in Article 85 of
these Rules, the Court shall deal with the cases before it in the order inwhich the preparatory inquiries in them have been completed. Wherethe preparatory inquiries in several cases are completed simultaneously,the order in which they are to be dealt with shall be determined by the
dates of entry in the register of the applications initiating them respec-
tively.
2. The President may in special circumstances order that a case be
given priority over others.
The President may in special circumstances, after hearing the parties
and the Advocate-General, either on his own initiative or at the requestof one of the parties, defer a case to be dealt with at a later date. On a
joint application by the parties the President may order that a case be
deferred.
Article 56
1. The proceedings shall be opened and directed by the President,
who shall be responsible for the proper conduct of the hearing.
2. The oral proceedings in cases heard in camera shall not be
published.
Article 57
The President may in the course of the hearing put questions to the
agents, advisers or lawyers of the parties.
The other Judges and the Advocate-General may do likewise.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 19
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Article 58
A party may address the Court only through his agent, adviser or
lawyer.
Article 59
1. The Advocate-General shall deliver his opinion orally at the end
of the oral procedure.
2. After the Advocate-General has delivered his opinion, the Presi-
dent shall declare the oral procedure closed.
Article 60
The Court may at any time, in accordance with Article 45 (1), after
hearing the Advocate-General, order any measure of inquiry to betaken or that a previous inquiry be repeated or expanded. The Courtmay direct the Chamber or the Judge-Rapporteur to carry out themeasures so ordered.
Article 61
The Court may after hearing the Advocate-General order the reopening
of the oral procedure.
Article 62
1. The Registrar shall draw up minutes of every hearing. The
minutes shall be signed by the President and by the Registrar and shallconstitute an official record.
2. The parties may inspect the minutes at the Registry and obtain
copies at their own expense.
Chapter 3a
EXPEDITED PROCEDURES
Article 62a
1. On application by the applicant or the defendant, the President
may exceptionally decide, on the basis of a recommendation by theJudge-Rapporteur and after hearing the other party and the Advocate
General, that a case is to be determined pursuant to an expedited proce-
dure derogating from the provisions of these Rules, where theparticular urgency of the case requires the Court to give its rulingwithth e minimum of delay.
An application for a case to be decided under an expedited procedure
shall be made by a separate document lodged at the same time as the
application initiating the proceedings or the defence, as the case may
be.
2. Under the expedited procedure, the originating application and the
defence may be supplemented by a reply and a rejoinder only if thePresident considers this to be necessary.
An intervener may lodge a statement in intervention only if the Presi-
dent considers this to be necessary.
3. Once the defence has been lodged or, if the decision to adjudicate
under an expedited procedure is not made until after that pleading hasbeen lodged, once that decision has been taken, the President shall fix a
date for the hearing, which shall be communicated forthwith to the
parties. He may postpone the date of the hearing where the organisa-tion of measures of inquiry or of other preparatory measures sorequires.
Without prejudice to Article 42, the parties may supplement their argu-
ments and offer further evidence in the course of the oral procedure.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 20
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▼M5
They must, however, give reasons for the delay in offering such further
evidence.
4. The Court shall give its ruling after hearing the Advocate
General.
Chapter 4
JUDGMENTS
Article 63
The judgment shall contain:
— a statement that it is the judgment of the Court,
— the date of its delivery,— the names of the President and of the Judges taking part in it,— the name of the Advocate-General,
— the name of the Registrar,
— the description of the parties,— the names of the agents, advisers and lawyers of the parties,
— a statement of the forms of order sought by the parties,
— a statement that the Advocate-General has been heard,— a summary of the facts,— the grounds for the decision,
— the operative part of the judgment, including the decision as to
costs.
Article 64
1. The judgment shall be delivered in open court; the parties shall be
given notice to attend to hear it.
2. The original of the judgment, signed by the President, by the
Judges who took part in the deliberations and by the Registrar, shall
be sealed and deposited at the Registry; the parties shall be servedwithcertified copies of th e judgment.
3. The Registrar shall record on the original of the judgment the
date on which it was delivered.
Article 65
The judgment shall be binding from the date of its delivery.
Article 66
1. Without prejudice to the provisions relating to the interpretation
of judgments the Court may, of its own motion or on application by a
party made within two weeks after the delivery of a judgment, rectifyclerical mistakes, errors in calculation and obvious slips in it.
2. The parties, whom the Registrar shall duly notify, may lodge
written observations within a period prescribed by the President.
3. The Court shall take its decision in closed session after hearing
the Advocate-General.
4. The original of the rectification order shall be annexed to the
original of the rectified judgment. A note of this order shall be madein the margin of the original of the rectified judgment.
Article 67
If the Court should omit to give a decision on a specific head of claim
or on costs, any party may within a month after service of the judg-ment apply to the Court to supplement its judgment.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 21
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The application shall be served on the opposite party and the President
shall prescribe a period within which that party may lodge writtenobservations.
After these observations have been lodged, the Court shall, after
hearing the Advocate-General, decide both on the admissibility and onthe substance of the application.
Article 68
The Registrar shall arrange for the publication of reports of cases
before the Court.
Chapter 5
COSTS
Article 69
1. A decision as to costs shall be given in the final judgment or in
the order which closes the proceedings.
2. The unsuccessful party shall be ordered to pay the costs if they
have been applied for in the successful party's pleadings.
Where there are several unsuccessful parties the Court shall decide how
the costs are to be shared.
3. Where each party succeeds on some and fails on other heads, or
where the circumstances are exceptional, the Court may order that the
costs be shared or that the parties bear their own costs.
The Court may order a party, even if successful, to pay costs which the
Court considers that party to have unreasonably or vexatiously causedthe opposite party to incur.
4. The Member States and institutions which intervene in the
proceedings shall bear their own costs.
The States, other than the Member States, which are parties to the EEA
Agreement, and also the EFTA Surveillance Authority, shall bear theirown costs if they intervene in the proceedings.
The Court may order an intervener other than those mentioned in the
preceding subparagraphs to bear his own costs.
5. A party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings shall be
ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the otherparty's►
M3observations on the discontinuance ◄pleadings.
However, upon application by the party who discontinues or withdraws
from proceedings, the costs shall be borne by the other party if this
appears justified by the conduct of that party.
Where the parties have come to an agreement on costs, the decision as
to costs shall be in accordance with that agreement.
If costs are not applied for, the parties shall bear their own costs.
6. Where a case does not proceed to judgment the costs shall be in
the discretion of the Court.
Article 70
Without prejudice to the second subparagraph of Article 69 (3) of these
Rules, in proceedings between the Communities and their servants theinstitutions shall bear their own costs.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 22
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Article 71
Costs necessarily incurred by a party in enforcing a judgment or order
of the Court shall be refunded by the opposite party on the scale inforce in the State where the enforcement takes place.
Article 72
Proceedings before the Court shall be free of charge, except that:
(a) where a party has caused the Court to incur avoidable costs the
Court may, after hearing the Advocate-General, order that party torefund them;
(b) where copying or translation work is carried out at the request of a
party, the cost shall, in so far as the Registrar considers it exces-
sive, be paid for by that party on the scale of charges referred toin Article 16 (5) of these Rules.
Article 73
Without prejudice to the preceding Article, the following shall be
regarded as recoverable costs:
(a) sums payable to witnesses and experts under Article 51 of these
Rules;
(b) expenses necessarily incurred by the parties for the purpose of the
proceedings, in particular the travel and subsistence expenses and
the remuneration of agents, advisers or lawyers.
Article 74
1. If there is a dispute concerning the costs to be recovered, the
Chamber to which the case has been assigned shall, on application by
the party concerned and after hearing the opposite party and the Advo-cate-General, make an order, from which no appeal shall lie.
2. The parties may, for the purposes of enforcement, apply for an
authenticated copy of the order.
Article 75
1. Sums due from the cashier of the Court shall be paid in the
currency of the country where the Court has its seat.
At the request of the person entitled to any sum, it shall be paid in the
currency of the country where the expenses to be refunded wereincurred or where the steps in respect of which payment is due weretaken.
2. Other debtors shall make payment in the currency of their country
of origin.
3. Conversions of currency shall be made at the official rates of
exchange ruling on the day of payment in the country where the Courthas its seat.
Chapter 6
LEGAL AID
Article 76
1. A party who is wholly or in part unable to meet the costs of the
proceedings may at any time apply for legal aid.
The application shall be accompanied by evidence of the applicant's
need of assistance, and in particular by a document from the competent
authority certifying his lack of means.
2. If the application is made prior to proceedings which the appli-
cant wishes to commence, it shall briefly state the subject of suchproceedings.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 23
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The application need not be made through a lawyer.
3. The President shall designate a Judge to act as Rapporteur. The
Chamber to which the latter belongs shall, after considering the written
observations of the opposite party and after hearing the Advocate-
General, decide whether legal aid should be granted in full or in part,or whether it should be refused. The Chamber shall consider whetherthere is manifestly no cause of action.
The Chamber shall make an order without giving reasons, and no
appeal shall lie thereform.
4. The Chamber may at any time, either of its own motion or on
application, withdraw legal aid if the circumstances which led to its
being granted alter during the proceedings.
5. Where legal aid is granted, the cashier of the Court shall advance
the funds necessary to meet the expenses.
In its decision as to costs the Court may order the payment to the
cashier of the Court of the whole or any part of amounts advanced aslegal aid.
The Registrar shall take steps to obtain the recovery of these sums
from the party ordered to pay them.
Chapter 7
DISCONTINUANCE
Article 77
If, before the Court has given its decision, the parties reach a settle-
ment of their dispute and intimate to the Court the abandonment oftheir claims, the President shall order the case to be removed from theregister and shall give a decision as to costs in accordance with Article69 (5), having regard to any proposals made by the parties on thematter.
This provision shall not apply to proceedings under ►
M1Articles
►M4230 and 232 ◄of the EC Treaty, Articles 33 and 35 of the
ECSC Treaty or Articles 146 and 148 of the Euratom Treaty ◄.
Article 78
If the applicant informs the Court in writing that he wishes to discon-
tinue the proceedings, the President shall order the case to be removedfrom the register and shall give a decision as to costs in accordancewithArticle 69 (5).
Chapter 8
SERVICE
Article 79
►M51.◄Where these Rules require that a document be served
on a person, the Registrar shall ensure that service is effected at that
person's address for service either by the dispatch of a copy of thedocument by registered post witha form for acknowledgement ofreceipt or by personal delivery of the copy against a receipt.
The Registrar shall prepare and certify the copies of documents to be
served, save where the parties themselves supply the copies in accor-
dance withArticle 37 (1) of th ese Rules.
2. Where, in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article
38(2), the addressee has agreed that service is to be effected on himby telefax or other technical means of communication, any proceduraldocument other than a judgment or order of the Court may be servedby the transmission of a copy of the document by such means.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 24
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Where, for technical reasons or on account of the nature or length of
the document, such transmission is impossible or impracticable, thedocument shall be served, if the addressee has failed to state an address
for service, at his address in accordance with the procedures laid down
in paragraph 1 of this article. The addressee shall be so advised bytelefax or other technical means of communication. Service shall thenbe deemed to have been effected on the addressee by registered post onthe tenth day following the lodging of the registered letter at the post
office of the place where the Court has its seat, unless it is shown by
the acknowledgement of receipt that the letter was received on adifferent date or the addressee informs the Registrar, within threeweeks of being advised by telefax or other technical means of commu-nication, that the document to be served has not reached him.
Chapter 9
TIME-LIMITS
Article 80
1. Any period of time prescribed by the ►M1EC, ECSC or
Euratom ◄Treaties, the Statutes of the Court or these Rules for the
taking of any procedural step shall be reckoned as follows:
(a) where a period expressed in days, weeks, months or years is to be
calculated from the moment at which an event occurs or an actiontakes place, the day during which that event occurs or that actiontakes place shall not be counted as falling within the period inquestion;
(b) a period expressed in weeks, months or in years shall end with the
expiry of whichever day in the last week, month or year is thesame day of the week, or falls on the same date, as the day during
which the event or action from which the period is to be calculated
occurred or took place. If, in a period expressed in months or inyears, the day on which it should expire does not occur in the lastmonth, the period shall end with the expiry of the last day of thatmonth;
(c) where a period is expressed in months and days, it shall first be
reckoned in whole months, then in days;
(d) periods shall include official holidays, Sundays and Saturdays;
(e) periods shall not be suspended during the judicial vacations.
2. If the period would otherwise end on a Saturday, Sunday or an
official holiday, it shall be extended until the end of the first followingworking day.
A list of official holidays drawn up by the Court shall be published in
theOfficial JournaloftheEuropeanCommunities .
Article 81
1. Where the period of time allowed for initiating proceedings
against a measure adopted by an institution runs from the publicationof that measure, that period shall be calculated, for the purposes ofArticle 80 (1) (a), from the end of the 14th day after publicationthereof in the Official JournaloftheEuropeanCommunities .
2. The prescribed time-limits shall be extended on account of
distance by a single period of ten days.
Article 82
Any►
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extended by whoever prescribed it.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 25
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The President and the Presidents of Chambers may delegate to the
Registrar power of signature for the purpose of fixing ►C1time-
limits◄which, pursuant to these Rules, it falls to them to prescribe
or of extending such ►C1time-limits ◄.
Chapter 10
STAY OF PROCEEDINGS
Article 82a
1. The proceedings may be stayed:
(a) in the circumstances specified in ►M1the third paragraph of
Article 47 of the EC Statute, the third paragraph of Article 47 ofthe ECSC Statute and the third paragraph of Article 48 of theEuratom Statute ◄, by order of the Court or of the Chamber to
which the case has been assigned, made after hearing the Advo-
cate-General;
(b) in all other cases, by decision of the President adopted after hearing
the Advocate-General and, save in the case of references for a
preliminary ruling as referred to in Article 103, the parties.
The proceedings may be resumed by order or decision, following the
same procedure.
The orders or decisions referred to in this paragraph shall be served on
the parties.
2. The stay of proceedings shall take effect on the date indicated in
the order or decision of stay or, in the absence of such indication, onthe date of that order or decision.
While proceedings are stayed time shall cease to run for the purposes
of prescribed ►
C1time-limits ◄for all parties.
3. Where the order or decision of stay does not fix the length of
stay, it shall end on the date indicated in the order or decision ofresumption or, in the absence of such indication, on the date of theorder or decision of resumption.
From the date of resumption time shall begin to run afresh for the
purposes of the ►
C1time-limits ◄.
TITLEIII
SPECIAL FORMS OF PROCEDURE
Chapter 1
SUSPENSION OF OPERATION OR ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER
INTERIM MEASURES
Article 83
1. An application to suspend the operation of any measure adopted
by an institution, made pursuant to ►M1Article►M4242◄of the
EC Treaty, second paragraphof Article 39 of th e ECSC Treaty orArticle 157 of the Euratom Treaty ◄, shall be admissible only if the
applicant is challenging that measure in proceedings before the Court.
An application for the adoption of any other interim measure referred
to in►
M1Article►M4243◄of the EC Treaty, third paragraph of
Article 39 of the ECSC Treaty or Article 158 of the EuratomTreaty◄shall be admissible only if it is made by a party to a case
before the Court and relates to that case.
2. An application of a kind referred to in paragraph(1) of th is
Article shall state the subject-matter of the proceedings, the circum-stances giving rise to urgency and the pleas of fact and lawestablishing a primafacie case for the interim measures applied for.
3. The application shall be made by a separate document and in
accordance with the provisions of Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 26
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Article 84
1. The application shall be served on the opposite party, and the
President shall prescribe a short period within which that party maysubmit written or oral observations.
2. The President may order a preparatory inquiry.The President may grant the application even before the observations
of the opposite party have been submitted. This decision may be variedor cancelled even without any application being made by any party.
Article 85
The President shall either decide on the application himself or refer it
to the Court.
If the President is absent or prevented from attending, Article 11 of
these Rules shall apply.
Where the application is referred to it, the Court shall postpone all
other cases, and shall give a decision after hearing the Advocate-General. Article 84 shall apply.
Article 86
1. The decision on the application shall take the form of a reasoned
order, from which no appeal shall lie. The order shall be served on theparties forthwith.
2. The enforcement of the order may be made conditional on the
lodging by the applicant of security, of an amount and nature to befixed in the light of the cirumstances.
3. Unless the order fixes the date on which the interim measure is to
lapse, the measure shall lapse when final judgment is delivered.
4. The order shall have only an interim effect, and shall be without
prejudice to the decision of the Court on the substance of the case.
Article 87
On application by a party, the order may at any time be varied or
cancelled on account of a change in circumstances.
Article 88
Rejection of an application for an interim measure shall not bar the
party who made it from making a further application on the basis ofnew facts.
Article 89
The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to applications to suspend
the enforcement of a decision of the Court or of any measure adopted
by another institution, submitted pursuant to ►
M1Articles►M4244
and 256 ◄of the EC Treaty, Articles 44 and 92 of the ECSC Treaty
or Articles 159 and 164 of the Euratom Treaty ◄.
The order granting the application shall fix, where appropriate, a date
on which ►C1the◄interim measure is to lapse.
Article 90
1. An application of a kind referred to in the third and fourth para-
graphs of Article 81 of the Euratom Treaty shall contain:
(a) the names and addresses of the persons or undertakings to be
inspected;
(b) an indication of what is to be inspected and of the purpose of the
inspection.
2. The President shall give his decision in the form of an order.
Article 86 of these Rules shall apply.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 27
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If the President is absent or prevented from attending, Article 11 of
these Rules shall apply.
Chapter 2
PRELIMINARY ISSUES
Article 91
1. A party applying to the Court for a decision on a preliminary
objection or other preliminary plea not going to the substance of the
case shall make the application by a separate document.
The application must state the pleas of fact and law relied on and the
form of order sought by the applicant; any supporting documents mustbe annexed to it.
2. As soon as the application has been lodged, the President shall
prescribe a period within which the opposite party may lodge a docu-ment containing a statement of the form of order sought by that partyand its pleas in law.
3. Unless the Court decides otherwise, the remainder of the proceed-
ings shall be oral.
4. The Court shall, after hearing the Advocate-General, decide on
the application or reserve its decision for the final judgment.
If the Court refuses the application or reserves its decision, the Presi-
dent shall prescribe new time-limits for the further steps in the
proceedings.
Article 92
1. Where it is clear that the Court has no jurisdiction to take cogni-
zance of an action or where the action is manifestly inadmissible, the
Court may, by reasoned order, after hearing the Advocate-General and
without taking further steps in the proceedings, give a decision on theaction.
2. The Court may at any time of its own motion consider whether
there exists any absolute bar to proceeding with a case or declare, afterhearing the parties, that the action has become devoid of purpose andthat there is no need to adjudicate on it; it shall give its decision inaccordance withArticle 91 (3) and (4) of th ese Rules.
Chapter 3
INTERVENTION
Article 93
1. An application to intervene must be made within ►M5six
weeks◄of the publication of the notice referred to in Article 16 (6)
of these Rules.
The application shall contain:
(a) the description of the case;
(b) the description of the parties;
(c) the name and address of the intervener;
(d) the intervener's address for service at the place where the Court has
its seat;
(e) the form of order sought, by one or more of the parties, in support
of which the intervener is applying for leave to intervene;
(f) a statement of the circumstances establishing the right to intervene,
where the application is submitted pursuant to the second or thirdparagraph of Article 37 of the EC Statute, Article 34 of the ECSC1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 28
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Statute or the second paragraph of Article 38 of the Euratom
Statute.
The intervener shall be represented in accordance with Article 17 of
the EC Statute, Article 20 of the ECSC Statute and Article 17 of theEuratom Statute.
Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules shall apply.
2. The application shall be served on the parties.
The President shall give the parties an opportunity to submit their
written or oral observations before deciding on the application.
The President shall decide on the application by order or shall refer the
application to the Court.
3. If the President allows the intervention, the intervener shall
receive a copy of every document served on the parties. The Presidentmay, however, on application by one of the parties, omit secret or
confidential documents.
4. The intervener must accept the case as he finds it at the time of
his intervention.
5. The President shall prescribe a period within which the intervener
may submit a statement in intervention.
The statement in intervention shall contain:
(a) a statement of the form of order sought by the intervener in support
of or opposing, in whole or in part, the form of order sought by one
of the parties;
(b) the pleas in law and arguments relied on by the intervener;
(c) where appropriate, the nature of any evidence offered.
6. After the statement in intervention has been lodged, the President
shall, where necessary, prescribe a time-limit within which the partiesmay reply to that statement.
7. Consideration may be given to an application to intervene which
is made after the expiry of the period prescribed in paragraph 1 butbefore the decision to open the oral procedure provided for in Article
44(3). In that event, if the President allows the intervention, the inter-
vener may, on the basis of the Report for the Hearing communicated tohim, submit his observations during the oral procedure, if that proce-dure takes place.
Chapter 4
JUDGMENTS BY DEFAULT AND APPLICATIONS TO SET THEM ASIDE
Article 94
1. If a defendant on whom an application initiating proceedings has
been duly served fails to lodge a defence to the application in the
proper form within the time prescribed, the applicant may apply for
judgment by default.
The application shall be served on the defendant. ►M3The Court
may decide to open the oral procedure on the application. ◄
2. Before giving judgment by default the Court shall, after hearing
the Advocate-General, consider whether the application initiatingproceedings is admissible, whether the appropriate formalities havebeen complied with, and whether the application appears well founded.
The Court may order a preparatory inquiry.
3. A judgment by default shall be enforceable. The Court may,
however, grant a stay of execution until the Court has given its deci-sion on any application under paragraph(4) to set aside th e judgment,or it may make execution subject to the provision of security of an1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 29
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amount and nature to be fixed in the light of the circumstances; this
security shall be released if no such application is made or if the appli-cation fails.
4. Application may be made to set aside a judgment by default.
The application to set aside the judgment must be made within one
month from the date of service of the judgment and must be lodgedin the form prescribed by Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules.
5. After the application has been served, the President shall
prescribe a period within which the other party may submit his writtenobservations.
The proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with Articles 44 et
seq. of these Rules.
6. The Court shall decide by way of a judgment which may not be
set aside. The original of this judgment shall be annexed to the originalof the judgment by default. A note of the judgment on the applicationto set aside shall be made in the margin of the original of the judgmentby default.
Chapter 5
CASES ASSIGNED TO CHAMBERS
Article 95
1.►M1The Court may assign any case brought before it to a
Chamber insofar as the difficulty or importance of the case or parti-
cular circumstances are not such as to require that the Court decide it
in plenary session. ◄
2. The decision so to assign a case shall be taken by the Court at the
end of the written procedure upon consideration of the preliminaryreport presented by the Judge-Rapporteur and after the Advocate-
General has been heard.
However, a case may not be so assigned if a Member State or an insti-
tution►
M1of the Communities ◄, being a party to the proceedings,
has requested that the case be decided in plenary session. In thissubparagraph the expression ‘party to the proceedings’ means any
Member State or any institution which is a party to or an intervener
in the proceedings or which has submitted written observations in anyreference of a kind mentioned in Article 103 of these Rules.
The request referred to in the preceding subparagraph may not be made
in proceedings between the Communities and their servants.
3. A Chamber may at any stage refer a case back to the Court.
Article 96
(repealed)
Chapter 6
EXCEPTIONAL REVIEW PROCEDURES
Section 1 — Third-party proceedings
Article 97
1. Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules shall apply to an application
initiating third-party proceedings. In addition such an application shall:
(a) specify the judgment contested;
(b) state how that judgment is prejudicial to the rights of the third
party;
(c) indicate the reasons for which the third party was unable to take
part in the original case.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 30
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The application must be made against all the parties to the original
case.
Where the judgment has been published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities , the application must be lodged within two
months of the publication.
2. The Court may, on application by the third party, order a stay of
execution of the judgment. The provisions of Title III, Chapter I, ofthese Rules shall apply.
3. The contested judgment shall be varied on the points on which
the submissions of the third party are upheld.
The original of the judgment in the third-party proceedings shall be
annexed to the original of the contested judgment. A note of the judg-ment in the third-party proceedings shall be made in the margin of the
original of the contested judgment.
Section 2 — Revision
Article 98
An application for revision of a judgment shall be made within three
months of the date on which the facts on which the application is basedcame to the applicant's knowledge.
Article 99
1. Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules shall apply to an application for
revision. In addition suchan application sh all:
(a) specify the judgment contested;
(b) indicate the points on which the judgment is contested;
(c) set out the facts on which the application is based;
(d) indicate the nature of the evidence to show that there are facts
justifying revision of the judgment, and that the time-limit laid
down in Article 98 has been observed.
2. The application must be made against all parties to the case in
which the contested judgment was given.
Article 100
1. Without prejudice to its decision on the substance, the Court, in
closed session, shall, after hearing the Advocate-General and havingregard to the written observations of the parties, give in the form of ajudgment its decision on the admissibility of the application.
2. If the Court finds the application admissible, it shall proceed to
consider the substance of the application and shall give its decision inthe form of a judgment in accordance with these Rules.
3. The original of the revising judgment shall be annexed to the
original of the judgment revised. A note of the revising judgment shallbe made in the margin of the original of the judgment revised.
Chapter 7
APPEALS AGAINST DECISIONS OF THE ARBITRATION COMMITTEE
Article 101
1. An application initiating an appeal under the second paragraph of
Article 18 of the Euratom Treaty shall state:
(a) the name and address of the applicant;
(b) the description of the signatory;
(c) a reference to the arbitration committee's decision against which
the appeal is made;
(d) the description of the parties;1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 31
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(e) a summary of the facts;
(f) the pleas in law of and the form of order sought by the applicant.
2. Articles 37 (3) and (4) and 38 (2), (3) and (5) of these Rules shall
apply.
A certified copy of the contested decision shall be annexed to the
application.
3. As soon as the application has been lodged, the Registrar of the
Court shall request the arbitration committee registry to transmit to theCourt the papers in the case.
4. Articles 39, 40, 55 et seq. of these Rules shall apply to these
proceedings.
5. The Court shall give its decision in the form of a judgment.
Where the Court sets aside the decision of the arbitration committee itmay refer the case back to the committee.
Chapter 8
INTERPRETATION OF JUDGMENTS
Article 102
1. An application for interpretation of a judgment shall be made in
accordance with Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules. In addition it shallspecify:
(a) the judgment in question;
(b) the passages of which interpretation is sought.
The application must be made against all the parties to the case in
which the judgment was given.
2. The Court shall give its decision in the form of a judgment after
having given the parties an opportunity to submit their observationsand after hearing the Advocate-General.
The original of the interpreting judgment shall be annexed to the
original of the judgment interpreted. A note of the interpreting judg-ment shall be made in the margin of the original of the judgmentinterpreted.
Chapter 9
PRELIMINARY RULINGS AND OTHER REFERENCES FOR INTERPRE-
TATION
Article 103
1. In cases governed by Article 20 of the ►M1EC Statute ◄and
Article 21 of the Euratom Statute, the procedure shall be governed bythe provisions of these Rules, subject to adaptations necessitated by thenature of the reference for a preliminary ruling.
2. The provisions of paragraph (1) shall apply to the references for a
preliminary ruling provided for in the Protocol concerning the interpre-tation by the Court of Justice of the Convention of 29 February 1968
on the mutual recognition of companies and legal persons and the
Protocol concerning the interpretation by the Court of Justice of theConvention of 27 September 1968 on jurisdiction and the enforcementof judgments in civil and commercial matters, signed at Luxembourgon 3 June 1971, and to the references provided for by Article 4 of the
latter Protocol.
The provisions of paragraph (1) shall apply also to references for inter-
pretation provided for by other existing or future agreements.
3. In cases provided for in Article 35(1) of the Union Treaty and in
Article 41 of the ECSC Treaty, the text of the decision to refer the1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 32
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matter shall be served on the parties in the case, the Member States, the
Commission and the Council.
These parties, States and institutions may, within two months from the
date of suchservice, lodge written statements of case or written obser-
vations.
The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply.
Article 104
1. The decisions of national courts or tribunals referred to in Article
103 shall be communicated to the Member States in the originalversion, accompanied by a translation into the official language of the
State to which they are addressed.
In the cases governed by Article 20 of the EC Statute, the decisions of
national courts or tribunals shall be notified to the States, other than theMember States, which are parties to the EEA Agreement, and also tothe EFTA Surveillance Authority, in the original version, accompaniedby a translation into one of the languages mentioned in Article 29 (1),
to be chosen by the addressee of the notification.
2. As regards the representation and attendance of the parties to the
main proceedings in the preliminary ruling procedure the Court shall
take account of the rules of procedure of the national court or tribunalwhich made the reference.
3. Where a question referred to the Court for a preliminary ruling is
identical to a question on which the Court has already ruled, where theanswer to sucha question may be clearly deduced from existing case-law or where the answer to the question admits of no reasonable doubt,
the Court may, after informing the court or tribunal which referred the
question to it, after hearing any observations submitted by the personsreferred to in Article 20 of the EC Statute, Article 21 of the EuratomStatute and Article 103(3) of these Rules and after hearing the Advo-cate-General, give its decision by reasoned order in which, if
appropriate, reference is made to its previous judgment or to the rele-
vant case-law.
4. Without prejudice to paragraph 3 of this Article, the procedure
before the Court in the case of a reference for a preliminary ruling shallalso include an oral part. However, after the statements of case orwritten observations referred to in Article 20 of the EC Statute, Article21 of the Euratom Statute and Article 103(3) of these Rules have been
submitted, the Court, acting on a report from the Judge-Rapporteur,
after informing the persons who under the aforementioned provisionsare entitled to submit suchstatements or observations, may, afterhearing the Advocate-General, decide otherwise, provided that none ofthose persons has submitted an application setting out the reasons forwhich he wishes to be heard. The application shall be submitted within
a period of one month from service on the party or person of the
written statements of case or written observations which have beenlodged. That period may be extended by the President.
5. The Court may, after hearing the Advocate-General, request clar-
ification from the national court.
►
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as to the costs of the reference.
In special circumstances the Court may grant, by way of legal aid,
assistance for the purpose of facilitating the representation or atten-dance of a party.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 33
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Article 104a
At the request of the national court, the President may exceptionally
decide, on a proposal from the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing theAdvocate-General, to apply an accelerated procedure derogating from
the provisions of these Rules to a reference for a preliminary ruling,
where the circumstances referred to establish that a ruling on the ques-tion put to the Court is a matter of exceptional urgency.
In that event, the President may immediately fix the date for the
hearing, which shall be notified to the parties in the main proceedingsand to the other persons referred to in Article 20 of the EC Statute,Article 21 of the Euratom Statute and Article 103(3) of these Rules
when the decision making the reference is served.
The parties and other interested persons referred to in the preceding
paragraphmay lodge statements of case or written observations with in
a period prescribed by the President, which shall not be less than 15days. The President may request the parties and other interestedpersons to restrict the matters addressed in their statement of case orwritten observations to the essential points of law raised by the ques-
tion referred.
The statements of case or written observations, if any, shall be notified
to the parties and to the other persons referred to above prior to the
hearing.
The Court shall rule after hearing the Advocate-General.
Chapter 10
SPECIAL PROCEDURES UNDER ARTICLES 103 TO 105 OF THE
EURATOM TREATY
Article 105
1. Four certified copies shall be lodged of an application under the
third paragraph of Article 103 of the Euratom Treaty. The Commissionshall be served with a copy.
2. The application shall be accompanied by the draft of the agree-
ment or contract in question, by the observations of the Commissionaddressed to the State concerned and by all other supporting docu-
ments.
The Commission shall submit its observations to the Court within a
period of 10 days, which may be extended by the President after theState concerned has been heard.
A certified copy of the observations shall be served on that State.3. As soon as the application has been lodged the President shall
designate a Judge to act as Rapporteur. The First Advocate-Generalshall assign the case to an Advocate-General as soon as the Judge-Rapporteur has been designated.
4. The decision shall be taken in closed session after the Advocate-
General has been heard.
The agents and advisers of the State concerned and of the Commission
shall be heard if they so request.
Article 106
1. In cases provided for in the last paragraph of Article 104 and the
last paragraph of Article 105 of the Euratom Treaty, the provisions ofArticles 37etseq. of these Rules shall apply.
2. The application shall be served on the State to which the respon-
dent person or undertaking belongs.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 34
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Chapter 11
OPINIONS
Article 107
1.►M3A request by the Council for an opinion pursuant to
Article►M4300◄of the EC Treaty shall be served on the
Commission and on the European Parliament. Such a request by the
Commission shall be served on the Council, on the European Parlia-
ment and on the Member States. Such a request by a Member Stateshall be served on the Council, on the European Parliament and onthe Member States. Such a request by a Member State shall be servedon the Council, on the Commission, on the European Parliament andthe other Member States. ◄
The President shall prescribe a period within which the institutions and
Member States which have been served with a request may submittheir written observations.
2. The Opinion may deal not only with the question whether the
envisaged agreement is compatible which the provisions of the►
M1EC Treaty ◄but also with the question whether the Commu-
nity or any Community institution has the power to enter into that
agreement.
Article 108
1. As soon as the request for an Opinion has been lodged, the Presi-
dent shall designate a Judge to act as Rapporteur.
2. The Court sitting in closed session shall, after hearing the Advo-
cates-General, deliver a reasoned Opinion.
3. The opinion, signed by the President, by the Judges who took part
in the deliberations and by the Registrar, shall be served on theCouncil, the Commission, the European Parliament and the MemberStates.
Article 109
Requests for the Opinion of the Court under the fourth paragraph of
Article 95 of the ECSC Treaty shall be submitted jointly by theCommission and the Council.
The Opinion shall be delivered in accordance with the provisions of the
preceding Article. It shall be communicated to the Commission, theCouncil and the European Parliament.
Chapter 12
REQUESTS FOR INTERPRETATION UNDER ARTICLE 68 OF THE EC
TREATY
Article 109a
1. A request for a ruling on a question of interpretation under
Article 68(3) of the EC Treaty shall be served on the Commission andthe Member States if the request is submitted by the Council, on theCouncil and the Member States if the request is submitted by the
Commission and on the Council, the Commission and the other
Member States if the request is submitted by a Member State.
The President shall prescribe a time limit within which the institutions
and the Member States on which the request has been served are to
submit their written observations.
2. As soon as the request referred to in paragraph 1 has been
submitted, the President shall designate the Judge-Rapporteur. The First1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 35
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Advocate-General shall thereupon assign the request to an Advocate-
General.
3. The Court shall, after the Advocate-General has delivered his
opinion, give its decision on the request by way of judgment.
The procedure relating to the request shall include an oral part where a
Member State or one of the institutions referred to in paragraph 1 sorequests.
Chapter 13
SETTLEMENT OF THE DISPUTES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 35 OF
THE UNION TREATY
Article 109b
1. In the case of disputes between Member States as referred to in
Article 35(7) of the Union Treaty, the matter shall be brought beforethe Court by an application by a party to the dispute. The application
shall be served on the other Member States and on the Commission.
In the case of disputes between Member States and the Commission as
referred to in Article 35(7) of the Union Treaty, the matter shall bebrought before the Court by an application by a party to the dispute.The application shall be served on the other Member States, the
Council and the Commission if it was made by a Member State. The
application shall be served on the Member States and on the Councilif it was made by the Commission.
The President shall prescribe a time limit within which the institutions
and the Member States on which the application has been served are to
submit their written observations.
2. As soon as the application referred to in paragraph 1 has been
submitted, the President shall designate the Judge-Rapporteur. The FirstAdvocate-General shall thereupon assign the application to an Advo-cate-General.
3. The Court shall, after the Advocate-General has delivered his
opinion, give its ruling on the dispute by way of judgment.
The procedure relating to the application shall include an oral part
where a Member State or one of the institutions referred to in para-
graph1 so requests.
4. The same procedure shall apply where an agreement concluded
between the Member States confers jurisdiction on the Court to ruleon a dispute between Member States or between Member States andan institution.
TITLEIV
APPEALS AGAINST DECISIONS OFTHE COURT OFF IRST
INSTANCE
Article 110
Without prejudice to the arrangements laid down in Article 29 (2) (b)
and (c) and the fourth subparagraph of Article 29 (3) of these Rules, inappeals against decisions of the Court of First Instance as referred to in►
M1Articles 49 and 50 of the EC Statute, Articles 49 and 50 of the
ECSC Statute and Articles 50 and 51 of the Euratom Statute ◄,t he
language of the case shall be the language of the decision of the Court
of First Instance against which the appeal is brought.
Article 111
1. An appeal shall be brought by lodging an application at the
Registry of the Court of Justice or of the Court of First Instance.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 36
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2. The Registry of the Court of First Instance shall immediately
transmit to the Registry of the Court of Justice the papers in the caseat first instance and, where necessary, the appeal.
Article 112
1. An appeal shall contain:
(a) the name and address of the appellant;
(b) the names of the other parties to the proceedings before the Court
of First Instance;
(c) the pleas in law and legal arguments relied on;
(d) the form ►
C1of◄order sought by the appellant.
Article 37 and Article 38 (2) and (3) of these Rules shall apply to
appeals.
2. The decision of the Court of First Instance appealed against shall
be attached to the appeal. The appeal shall state the date on which thedecision appealed against was notified to the appellant.
3. If an appeal does not comply withArticle 38 (3) or withpara-
graph (2) of this Article, Article 38 (7) of these Rules shall apply.
Article 113
1. An appeal may seek:
— to set aside, in whole or in part, the decision of the Court of First
Instance;
— the same form of order, in whole or in part, as that sought at first
instance and shall not seek a different form of order.
2. The subject-matter of the proceedings before the Court of First
Instance may not be changed in the appeal.
Article 114
Notice of the appeal shall be served on all the parties to the proceed-
ings before the Court of First Instance. Article 39 of these Rules shallapply.
Article 115
1. Any party to the proceedings before the Court of First Instance
may lodge a response within two months after service on him of noticeof the appeal. The time-limit for lodging a response shall not beextended.
2. A response shall contain:
(a) the name and address of the party lodging it;
(b) the date on which notice of the appeal was served on him;
(c) the pleas in law and legal arguments relied on;
(d) the form of order sought by the respondent.
Article 37 and Article 38(2) and (3) of these Rules shall apply.
Article 116
1. A response may seek:
— to dismiss, in whole or in part, the appeal or to set aside, in whole
or in part, the decision of the Court of First Instance;
— the same form of order, in whole or in part, as that sought at first
instance and shall not seek a different form of order.
2. The subject-matter of the proceedings before the Court of First
Instance may not be changed in the response.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 37
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Article 117
1. The appeal and the response may be supplemented by a reply and
a rejoinder where the President, on application made by the appellantwithin seven days of service of the response, considers such further
pleading necessary and expressly allows the submission of a reply in
order to enable the appellant to put forward his point of view or inorder to provide a basis for the decision on the appeal. The Presidentshall prescribe the date by which the reply is to be submitted and, uponservice of that pleading, the date by which the rejoinder is to besubmitted.
2. Where the response seeks to set aside, in whole or in part, the
decision of the Court of First Instance on a plea in law which was not
raised in the appeal, the appellant or any other party may submit a
reply on that plea alone within two months of the service of theresponse in question. Paragraph (1) shall apply to any further pleadingfollowing sucha reply.
Article 118
Subject to the following provisions, Articles 42 (2), 43, 44, 55 to 90,
93, 95 to 100 and 102 of these Rules shall apply to the procedurebefore the Court of Justice on appeal from a decision of the Court ofFirst Instance.
Article 119
Where the appeal is, in whole or in part, clearly inadmissible or clearly
unfounded, the Court may at any time, acting on a report from theJudge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate-General, by reasonedorder dismiss the appeal in whole or in part.
Article 120
After the submission of pleadings as provided for in Article 115(1) and,
if any, Article 117(1) and (2) of these Rules, the Court, acting on areport from the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate-General and the parties, may decide to dispense with the oral part ofthe procedure unless one of the parties submits an application setting
out the reasons for which he wishes to be heard. The application shall
be submitted within a period of one month from notification to theparty of the close of the written procedure. That period may beextended by the President.
Article 121
The report referred to in Article 44(2) shall be presented to the Court
after the pleadings provided for in Article 115(1) and, where appro-priate, Article 117(1) and (2) have been lodged. Where no suchpleadings are lodged, the same procedure shall apply after the expiryof the period prescribed for lodging them.
Article 122
Where the appeal is unfounded or where the appeal is well founded
and the Court itself gives final judgment in the case, the Court shallmake a decision as to costs.
In proceedings between the Communities and their servants:
— Article 70 of these Rules shall apply only to appeals brought by
institutions;1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 38
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— by way of derogation from Article 69 (2) of these Rules, the Court
may, in appeals brought by officials or other servants of an institu-tion, order the parties to share the costs where equity so requires.
If the appeal is withdrawn Article 69 (5) shall apply.When an appeal brought by a Member State or an institution which did
not intervene in the proceedings before the Court of First Instance iswell founded, the Court of Justice may order that the parties share thecosts or that the successful appellant pay the costs which the appeal hascaused an unsuccessful party to incur.
Article 123
An application to intervene made to the Court in appeal proceedings
shall be lodged before the expiry of a period of one month runningfrom the publication referred to in Article 16 (6).
TITLEV
PROCEDURES PROVIDED FOR BY THE EEA AGREEMENT
Article 123a
1. In the case governed by Article 111 (3) of the EEA Agree-
ment (1), the matter shall be brought before the Court by a request
submitted by the Contracting Parties to the dispute. The request shallbe served on the other Contracting Parties, on the Commission, on theEFTA Surveillance Authority and, where appropriate, on the other
persons to whom a reference for a preliminary ruling raising the same
question of interpretation of Community legislation would be notified.
The President shall prescribe a period within which the Contracting
Parties and the other persons on whom the request has been served
may submit written observations.
The request shall be made in one of the languages mentioned in Article
29 (1). Paragraphs (3) and (5) of that Article shall apply. The provi-
sions of Article 104 (1) shall apply mutatismutandis .
2. As soon as the request referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article
has been submitted, the President shall appoint a Judge-Rapporteur.The First Advocate-General shall, immediately afterwards, assign the
request to an Advocate-General.
The Court shall, after hearing the Advocate-General, give a reasoned
decision on the request in closed session.
3. The decision of the Court, signed by the President, by the Judges
who took part in the deliberations and by the Registrar, shall be servedon the Contracting Parties and on the other persons referred to in para-
graph1.
Article 123b
In the case governed by Article 1 of Protocol 34 to the EEA Agree-
ment, the request of a court or tribunal of an EFTA State shall be
served on the parties to the case, on the Contracting Parties, on theCommission, on the EFTA Surveillance Authority and, where appro-priate, on the other persons to whom a reference for a preliminaryruling raising the same question of interpretation of Community legis-
lation would be notified.
If the request is not submitted in one of the languages mentioned in
Article 29 (1), it shall be accompanied by a translation into one ofthose languages.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 39
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Within two months of this notification, the parties to the case, the
Contracting Parties and the other persons referred to in the first para-graphsh all be entitled to submit statements of case or written
observations.
The procedure shall be governed by the provisions of these Rules,
subject to the adaptations called for by the nature of the request.
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Article 124
1. The President shall instruct any person who is required to take an
oath before the Court, as witness or expert, to tell the truth or to carry
out his task conscientiously and impartially, as the case may be, andshall warn him of the criminal liability provided for in his nationallaw in the event of any breach of this duty.
2. The witness shall take the oath either in accordance with the first
subparagraph of Article 47 (5) of these Rules or in the manner laiddown by his national law.
Where his national law provides the opportunity to make, in judicial
proceedings, a solemn affirmation equivalent to an oathas well as or
instead of taking an oath, the witness may make such an affirmation
under the conditions and in the form prescribed in his national law.
Where his national law provides neither for taking an oath nor for
making a solemn affirmation, the procedure described in paragraph (1)shall be followed.
3. Paragraph(2) sh all apply mutatismutandis to experts, a reference
to the first subparagraph of Article 49 (6) replacing in this case thereference to the first subparagraph of Article 47 (5) of these Rules.
Article 125
Subject to the provisions of Article ►
M4245◄of the►M1EC
Treaty◄and Article 160 of the Euratom Treaty and after consultation
with the Governments concerned, the Court shall adopt supplementaryrules concerning its practice in relation to:
(a) letters rogatory;
(b) applications for legal aid;
(c) reports of perjury by witnesses or experts, delivered pursuant to
►
M1Article 27 of the EC Statute and Article 28 of the ECSC
and Euratom Statutes ◄.
Article 125a
The Court may issue practice directions relating in particular to the
preparation and conduct of the hearings before it and to the lodgingof written statements of case or written observations.
Article 126
These Rules replace the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice of
the European Communities adopted on 4 December 1974 ( Official
Journal of the European Communities No L 350 of 28 December
1974, p. 1), as last amended on 15 May 1991 (
1).1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 40
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Article 127
These Rules, which are authentic in the languages mentioned in Article
29 (1) of these Rules, shall be published in the Official Journal of the
EuropeanCommunities and shall enter into force on the first day of the
second monthfollowing th eir publication.
Done at Luxembourg, 19 June 1991.1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 41
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ANNEX I
‘DECISION ON OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS
THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to Article 80 (2) of the Rules of Procedure, which requires the
Court to draw up a list of official holidays;
DECIDES:
Article 1
For the purposes of Article 80 (2) of the Rules of Procedure the following shall
be official holidays:
New Year's Day;
Easter Monday;
1 May;
Ascension Day;Whit Monday;
23 June;
24 June, where 23 June is a Sunday;15 August;1 November;
25 December;
26 December.
The official holidays referred to in the first paragraph hereof shall be those
observed at the place where the Court of Justice has its seat.
Article 2
Article 80 (2) of the Rules of Procedure shall apply only to the official holidays
mentioned in Article 1 of this Decision.
Article 3
This Decision, which shall constitute Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, shall
enter into force on the same day as those Rules.
It shall be published in the Official JournaloftheEuropeanCommunities .
Done at Luxembourg, 19 June 1991.’1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 42
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ANNEX II
‘DECISION ON EXTENSION OF ►C1 TIME-LIMITS ◄ON
ACCOUNT OFDISTANCE
THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to Article 81 (2) of the Rules of Procedure relating to the exten-
sion, on account of distance, of prescribed ►C1time-limits ◄;
DECIDES:
Article 1
In order to take account of distance, procedural ►C1time-limits ◄for all
parties save those habitually resident in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg shall
be extended as follows:
— for the Kingdom of Belgium: two days,
— for the Federal Republic of Germany, the European territory of the French
Republic and the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: six
days,
— for the European territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, for the Kingdom of
Spain, for Ireland, for the Hellenic Republic, for the Italian Republic, for the
Republic of Austria, for the Portuguese Republic (with the exception of the
Azores and Madeira), for the Republic of Finland, for the Kingdom of
Sweden and for the United Kingdom: 10 days,
— for other European countries and territories: two weeks,
— for the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira of the Portuguese
Republic: three weeks,
— for other countries, departments and territories: one month.
Article 2
This Decision, which shall constitute Annex II to the Rules of Procedure, shall
enter into force on the same day as those Rules.
It shall be published in the Official JournaloftheEuropeanCommunities .
Done at Luxembourg, 19 June 1991.’1991Q0704 — EN — 01.02.2001 — 005.001 — 43
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