Amendments to the practice directions relating to direct actions and appeals
Date: 2009-01-27
Institutions: Court of Justice of the European Union
Subjects: Court of Justice of the European Union, appeal, appeal to the Court (EU), information, judicial proceedings

31.1.2009

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 29/51

RULES OF PROCEDURE

COURT OF JUSTICE

AMENDMENTS TO THE PRACTICE DIRECTIONS

relating to direct actions and appeals

THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

2. Points 49 to 51 are replaced by the following text:

Pursuant to Article 125a of its Rules of Procedure,

Whereas:

(1) With the aim of making hearings as effective as possible,
the Court has decided to make some amendments to the
organisation and conduct of those hearings.

‘49. The notification of the hearing informs the parties of
any measures of organisation of the hearing decided
upon by the Court. Those measures may consist,
in
in requesting the parties to answer certain
particular,
questions at the hearing, to define their position at the
hearing on specific issues,
to concentrate their oral
submissions on certain aspects of the case or specific
points or in requesting parties upholding the same view
to consult each other for the purposes of the hearing.

(2)

(3)

in particular,

The first of those amendments is to make general an
existing practice consisting,
in requesting
the parties, when they are notified of the hearing, to
answer certain questions,
to define their position on
specific issues in their oral submissions or to concentrate
those submissions on certain aspects of the case which
the Court’s
seem to be particularly important
decision.

for

those amendments is to give,

The second of
in the
conduct of the hearing, more time and greater priority
to the exchanges of questions and answers between the
members of
the Court and Counsel, which makes it
possible for the duration of the oral submissions them­
selves to be fixed at 20 minutes per party for hearings
before the full Court, the Grand Chamber and Chambers
of five judges and 15 minutes before Chambers of three
judges.

(4)

The Practice Directions must as a result be adapted and
some email addresses contained therein must be updated.

HEREBY ADOPTS THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS TO THE
PRACTICE DIRECTIONS OF 15 OCTOBER 2004 (1):

1. In

the

second

indent
ecj.registry@curia.eu.int
is
‘ecj.registry@curia.europa.eu’.

of
point
replaced

1,
by

the
the

address
address

(1) OJ L 361, 8.12.2004, p. 15.

Before the hearing begins the agents or lawyers are
called to a short meeting with the relevant formation
of the Court about the organisation of the hearing. At
that meeting the Judge-Rapporteur and the Advocate-
General may provide information on the matters they
particularly wish to hear developed in the oral
submissions.

50. The hearing generally has three parts: oral submissions,
questions from the members of the Court and replies.

the documents

In the light of the knowledge which the Court already
has of
lodged during the written
procedure, the aim of oral submissions is to highlight
or elaborate on the issues which Counsel considers to
be particularly important for the Court’s decision. Oral
submissions should avoid reiterating what has already
been put
is
normally not necessary to recite the factual or legal
background to the case.

forward in the written procedure.

It

Oral submissions should begin by outlining the plan to
be followed.

The answers to any questions put in advance by the
Court and to be answered at the hearing must be given
during those oral submissions.

L 29/52

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

31.1.2009

Where the Court has requested the participants in the
hearing to concentrate their oral submissions on certain
specified points, Counsel should not deal with other
aspects of the case, unless they consider them to be
particularly important for the Court’s decision.

far as possible, Counsel who uphold similar
expound again arguments

As
arguments
should not
already made at the same hearing.

As regards the duration of oral submissions see point
51 below.

Questions from the members of
the Court are normally
designed to enable Counsel, in the light both of their
oral submissions and of the documents lodged during
the written procedure,
to clarify or elaborate upon
certain issues.

and only

are designed to enable Counsel
if

Replies
to react
succinctly,
to be
necessary, to observations made during the hearing. A
reply must be
confined to responding to those
observations and must not go any further.

consider

they

it

or a Chamber of
Maximum for hearings before a Chamber of
judges.
submissions are limited to 15 minutes maximum.

five judges and to 15 minutes
three
intervener’s

formation

Before

any

an

Speaking time may exceptionally be extended on
submission of an application together with a detailed
statement of reasons. Such an application must reach
the Court at the latest two weeks before the date of the
hearing.

The notification of the hearing requests the agents and
lawyers to inform the Registry of the likely duration of
their oral submissions. The information supplied is used
in the planning of the business of the Court, and it is
not possible to exceed the speaking time indicated.’

3. In

second

the
words:
interpret@curia.europa.eu’ are added.

of
‘fax (352) 43 03 36 97’

paragraph

point 52,
the words

after
‘or

the
e-mail:

The amendment under point 2 is applicable to hearings notified
as from 1 February 2009.

51. Oral submissions are limited to 20 minutes maximum
for hearings before the full Court, the Grand Chamber

Done at Luxembourg, 27 January 2009.