Court of Justice of the European Union
Court of Justice of the European Union, located in Luxembourg, is made up of one judge from each EU country, assisted by eight advocates-general. They are appointed by joint agreement of the governments of the member states. Each is appointed for a term of six years, after which they may be reappointed for one or two further periods of three years.
The Court's job is to ensure that EU law is complied with, and that the treaties are correctly interpreted and applied.
It can find any EU member state guilty of failing to fulfil its obligations under the treaties. It can check whether EU laws have been properly enacted and it can find the European Parliament, the Council or the Commission guilty of failing to act as required.
The Court of Justice is also the only institution that can, at the request of the national courts, give a ruling on the interpretation of the treaties and on the validity and interpretation of EU law. So, when a question of this sort is brought before a court in one of the member states, that court may - and sometimes must - ask the Court of Justice for its ruling.
This system ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied in the same way throughout the European Union.
The Treaties explicitly allow the Court to check whether EU legislation respects the fundamental rights of EU citizens and to give rulings on questions of personal freedom and security.
Besides the Court of Justice, there are two other courts: the General Court (created in 1988) and the Civil Service Tribunal (created in 2004).
The General Court consists of one judge from each EU country, is responsible for giving rulings on certain kinds of case, particularly actions brought by firms or private individuals against EU institutions, and disputes between the institutions and their employees.
The Civil Service Tribunal is composed of seven Judges appointed by the Council for a period of six years. TheTribunal adjudicate in disputes between the European Union and its civil service.
