COMMISSION OPINION On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transfer to the General Court of the European Union of jurisdiction at first instance in disputes between the Union and its servants
Date: 2016-02-22
Institutions: European Commission, Legal service
Subjects: Civil Service Tribunal, European civil service, General Court (EU), institutional structure, judge, judicial reform, jurisdiction, labour dispute, transfer of competence

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 22.2.2016  COM(2016) 81 final   COMMISSION OPINION On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transfer to the General Court of the European Union of jurisdiction at first instance in disputes between the Union and its servants  
 
 
OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the 
transfer to the General Court of the European Union of jurisdiction at first instance in 
disputes between the Union and its servants 

*** 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular 
Articles 257, first paragraph, and 281, second paragraph, thereof, 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

By  a  request  of  17  November  2015,  the  Court  of  Justice  of  the 
European Union proposed to the legislator the adoption of a regulation to 
dissolve the European Union Civil Service Tribunal (CST) and transfer to 
the  General  Court  of  the  European  Union  jurisdiction  at  first  instance  in 
European Union civil service disputes. 

is 

the  reform  of 

the 
the  necessary  extension  of 
This  proposal 
General Court  recently  decided  upon  by  the  EU  legislature  in  order  to 
respond  to  the  challenge  of  the  increase  in  litigation  before  that  court. 
When  adopting  Regulation 
the 
European Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  December  2015,  the 
European Parliament and the Council opted for a progressive increase in 
the  number  of  judges  of  the  General  Court  in  order  to  reach  two  judges 
per Member State by 2019, in particular by integrating the seven judges of 
the CST into that court by 1 September 2016. 

(EU,  Euratom)  2015/2422  of 

the 

fully 

initial 

supported 

requests  of 

The  Commission 
the 
Court of Justice  for  an  increase  in  the  number  of  judges  of  the 
General Court.  The reasons  for  this position  were  set  out  in  detail  in  the 
opinion  adopted  by 
the  Commission  on  30  September  2011 
(COM(2011)596).  The  Commission  subsequently  also  supported  the 
solution finally adopted by the legislature, namely a gradual doubling of 
the  number  of  judges  of  the  General  Court,  in  particular  through  the 
transfer of the posts of judges of the CST. 

Accordingly,  the  present  proposal  receives  the  full  support  of  the 
Commission in so far as it allows implementation of the second phase of 
the  reform  and  thus  faithfully  reflects  the  choices  already  made  by  the 
legislature. 

The  Commission  confines  itself,  beyond  this,  to  making  two  additional 
comments. 

The  first  comment  concerns  the  future  procedural  treatment  of  the  cases 
that will be transferred to the General Court. 

European Commission, 1049 Brussels, BELGIUM - Tel. +32 22991111 

 
 
 
 
 
(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

Besides the principle of the dissolution of the CST on 1 September 2016 
and  the  transfer  to  the General  Court  of  all  the  cases  pending  before the 
CST on that date, the proposal contains temporary provisions intended to 
organise the arrangements for the transfer. It is provided in particular that 
the cases pending before the CST on 31 August 2016 will be transferred 
as they stand on that date. 

A  comprehensive  reading  of  the  proposal  of  the  Court  of  Justice  and  its 
accompanying  explanatory  memorandum  suggests 
the  cases 
transferred  in  this  manner  will  be  governed,  from  the  date  they  are 
transferred,  by  the  provisions  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the 
General Court, which will have been amended in the meantime. 

that 

In  this  regard,  the  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  it  would  be 
advisable,  in  the  interests  of  legal  certainty,  for  the  present  Rules  to 
contain  an  express  provision  confirming  the  application  of  the  Rules  of 
Procedure of the General Court to those cases. Moreover, with regard to 
the amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the General Court that will 
be  necessary  to  take  account  of  the  transfer  to  the  General  Court  of  the 
European Union of jurisdiction in civil service disputes, the Commission 
would like already at this stage to express the importance it attaches to the 
General Court's incorporating in its Rules of Procedure the rules specific 
to civil service disputes as currently set out in the Rules of Procedure of 
the CST, in particular Articles 108 and 109.  

(10)  The Commission's second comment concerns the internal organisation of 
the General Court, once the the number of judges has been increased. The 
General Court is due to number 47 members as from 1 September 2016. It 
goes without saying that the way the General Court functions will have to 
be  profoundly  modified  to  cope  with  this  new  situation.  Firstly,  the 
increase  could  provide  an  opportunity  for  the  General  Court  to  assign  a 
higher number of cases to larger benches (chambers of five judges, even 
the  Grand  Chamber),  depending  on  their  importance.  This  would  ensure 
the coherence and quality of the case-law of the expanded General Court 
and  help  to  avoid  a  growing  number  of  appeals  brought  before  the 
Court of Justice. Secondly, the new situation could foster reflection on the 
possibilities of adapting the rules and practices governing the allocation of 
cases by creating thematic synergies, in particular by taking into account 
the material connection between cases, while at the same time preserving 
the flexibility necessary to adapt the said rules and practices to the future 
evolution of litigation.  

(11)  Finally, the Commission invites the legislature to adopt the proposal of the 
Court  of  Justice  as  soon  as  possible.  In  addition  to  the  deadline  of  1 
September 2016 already mentioned, the Commission would point out that 
after the legislation has been adopted, it will still be necessary to carry out 
the necessary adaptations to the Rules of Procedure of the General Court 
as  well  as  the  appointment  of  the  new  judges  and  the  internal 
reorganisation of the General Court. It is only then that the Court will be 
equipped to resolutely set about reducing its backlog of cases. 

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Conclusion 

* * * 

The Commission gives a favourable opinion on the proposal of the Court of Justice. 

This opinion shall be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council. 

Done at Brussels, 

By the Commission 
Jean-Claude Junker 
President of the Commission 

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