The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is the judicial branch of the EU and ensures that European law is interpreted and applied uniformly across all Member States. It safeguards the rule of law in the EU legal order and ensures that EU institutions and member states comply with the Treaties.
The CJEU is composed of two main courts:
The Court of Justice (commonly referred to as the ECJ)
The General Court (formerly the Court of First Instance)
Together, they form a two-tiered judicial system that handles a wide range of legal issues, including treaty interpretation, institutional compliance, and cases brought by individuals, companies, and member states.
Role: Highest authority on EU law. Ensures uniform interpretation and validity of EU law across Member States.
Functions:
Preliminarily rules on national court requests for interpretation of EU law.
Determines the legality of EU acts (treaties, regulations, directives).
Rules on infringement proceedings (when a Member State fails to fulfill obligations under EU law).
Hears appeals from the General Court on points of law.
Composition 1 judge per Member State (currently 27), plus 11 Advocates-General who provide independent legal opinions.
Court of Justice of the European Union. https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/Jo2_7024/en/
Role: Handles cases involving individuals, companies, and, in some instances, Member States. It acts as a trial-level court in the EU system.
Functions:
Reviews actions for annulment brought by individuals, companies, and (in limited cases) Member States against EU institutions.
Hears cases on competition law, trade, agriculture, and state aid.
Handles staff cases and intellectual property disputes.
Composition: 2 judges per Member State (54 total). No Advocates-General.
General Court. https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/Jo2_7033/en/
EUR-Lex – Access to European Union Law
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/
Searchable database for EU treaties, legislation, case law, and Official Journal entries.
CURIA – Court of Justice Website
https://curia.europa.eu/
Official site of the CJEU. Provides judgments, opinions, press releases, and case tracking.
HUDOC – European Court of Human Rights
https://www.echr.coe.int/
Although not an EU court, this site is relevant for comparative research on European human rights law (Council of Europe).
European e-Justice Portal
https://e-justice.europa.eu/
Offers public access to cross-border legal resources, case law, and information about justice systems in EU countries.
For more information, visit the UIUC Law Library's European Union Law Library Guide
Cases lodged before the Court of Justice:
Cases lodged before the Court of First Instance:
Other Case Information:
Case Law: Searchable texts of judgments and opinions. It should be noted that these are not the authoritative sources, but they are usable for informative purposes.
Court Press Releases: Organized by year and by area: “Cases,” “Offical Visits,” and “Information.”
Diary: Quick reference schedule of activities for the two courts. Covers the current week.
Annual Reports: For each court, information on proceedings and statistics of judicial activity by year.
Curia, the official website of the Court of Justice of the European Union
Provides decisions of the European Court of Justice, the General Court, and the Civil Service Tribuna.
EUR-Lex, the EU's online legal database, also provides court decisions via the case number and the date of the decision.