What is the European Court of Justice?

It is the institution of the European Union that encompasses the whole judiciary, and it consists of two major courts:

European Court of Justice - hears applications from national courts for preliminary rulings, annulment and appeals. It consists of 11 advocates general and one judge from each EU member country.

General Court - hears applications for an annulment from companies, national governments and, less commonly, individuals. It is made up of 47 judges, which will be increased to 56 in 2019.

The purpose of the European Court of Justice

European Court of Justice reviews the legality of actions taken by the EU's institutions, enforces compliance by member states with their obligations under the Treaties, and interprets European Union law.

The idea of ​​European Union law is that each Member State incorporates the principles laid down by Union law in its legislation. The Court is responsible for ensuring that the interpretation is complied with in the law and in the application of the provisions of the Treaty on European Union and the competent Community institutions. In order for the court to carry out this task, the Court has a wide jurisdiction to hear different the Court of Justice is, inter alia, competent to rule on applications for annulment or failure to act, for failure to act, for references for a preliminary ruling, and appeals against the General Court lodged with a Member State or institutions.