Urgent procedure at the Court of Justice for cases of justice and freedom

(BRUSSELS2) A new “urgent” preliminary ruling procedure before the Court of Justice of the European Communities

(ECJ) came into force on March 1. The Court will thus be able to render a judgment, quickly, in the areas of freedom, security and justice, which require a rapid decision, particularly in the case of "situations involving deprivation of liberty": arrest warrant, non-admission, expulsion, refusal of an asylum application… (see0043:EN:PDF">decision published in the OJ).

This will allow litigants, judges or public prosecutors, when a question of compliance with Community law arises in these areas that violate public freedoms, to have the certainty that the measure envisaged is indeed in conformity with Community law. . It should be noted that the judgment rendered by the Court will not be an interim judgment or an emergency measure subject to appeal, but a final judgment, without possible appeal. The practical details of the procedure have been determined by the President of the Court (see circular note).

A few weeks or months instead of 18 months
Instead of the 18 months on average that a judgment requires, it can be rendered in less than three months, by eliminating or accelerating certain stages of the procedure. If necessary, in cases of extreme urgency (expulsion, etc.), a ruling can be issued within a few weeks. This decision is however less ambitious than the proposal made by the President of the Court in 2006 (see the projet).

The weight of translations
The procedure before the European Court of Justice is more cumbersome than before a national court, in particular because of the translations into all the Community languages, at several stages of the procedure (introduction of the case and judgment). A counterpart – and a necessary condition – to the value that a judgment of the ECJ has in all countries of the European Union since it is binding on all national courts.

(NGV)