On 28 November 2015 the European Parliament approved the increase of the number of judges at the General court of the European Union.
The draft regulation provides for an increase of the number of judges at the General Court in three stages. At the date of the entry into force of the regulation, the number of judges will be increased to 40. On 1st September 2016 the first instance jurisdiction in Union civil service cases will be transferred to the General Court and the seven posts of judges of the Civil Service Tribunal will be integrated into the General Court. As from 1st September 2019, the General Court will count two judges per Member State.
This reform follows the legislative initiative submitted by the Court of Justice on 28 March 2011. The Court proposed a substantial increase of the number of judges at the General Court with a view to accelerate the procedure, to decrease the number of pending cases and to face the increasing workload of the General court.
The legal initiative of the Court of Justice is available by clicking on this link.
The European Parliament’s legislative resolution of 28 October 2015 on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union is available at the following address.