Case C-119/23, Valančius: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 29 July 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Vilniaus apygardos administracinis teismas – Lithuania) – Virgilijus Valančius v Lietuvos Republikos Vyriausybė (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Third subparagraph of Article 19(2) TEU – Second paragraph of Article 254 TFEU – Appointment of Judges of the General Court of the European Union – Independence beyond doubt – Ability required for appointment to high judicial office – National procedure for proposing a candidate for the office of Judge of the General Court of the European Union – Group of independent experts responsible for assessing the candidates – Merit list of candidates meeting the requirements laid down in the third subparagraph of Article 19(2) TEU and the second paragraph of Article 254 TFEU – Proposal of a candidate named on the merit list other than the top-ranked candidate – Opinion of the panel provided for in Article 255 TFEU on the suitability of candidates)
Date: 2024-07-29
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: General Court (EU), administrative transparency, appointment of members, independence of the judiciary, judge, member of the Court of Justice (EU), professional qualifications








C_202405774EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/5774


7.10.2024






Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 29 July 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Vilniaus apygardos administracinis teismas – Lithuania) – Virgilijus Valančius v Lietuvos Republikos Vyriausybė


(Case C-119/23,
                (1)
Valančius)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Third subparagraph of Article 19(2) TEU - Second paragraph of Article 254 TFEU - Appointment of Judges of the General Court of the European Union - Independence beyond doubt - Ability required for appointment to high judicial office - National procedure for proposing a candidate for the office of Judge of the General Court of the European Union - Group of independent experts responsible for assessing the candidates - Merit list of candidates meeting the requirements laid down in the third subparagraph of Article 19(2) TEU and the second paragraph of Article 254 TFEU - Proposal of a candidate named on the merit list other than the top-ranked candidate - Opinion of the panel provided for in Article 255 TFEU on the suitability of candidates)
(C/2024/5774)
Language of the case: Lithuanian

Referring court

Vilniaus apygardos administracinis teismas

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Virgilijus Valančius

Defendant: Lietuvos Republikos Vyriausybė

Other parties: Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo kanceliarija, Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidento kanceliarija, Saulius Lukas Kalėda

Operative part of the judgment

The third subparagraph of Article 19(2) TEU and the second paragraph of Article 254 TFEU
must be interpreted as not precluding the government of a Member State, which has established a group of independent experts responsible for evaluating candidates for the office of Judge of the General Court of the European Union and drawing up a merit list of candidates meeting the requirements laid down in those provisions, from proposing, from among the candidates on that list, a candidate other than the best-ranked candidate, provided that the candidate proposed satisfies those requirements.


(1)  
            OJ C 173, 15.5.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/5774/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)