The Past and Possible Futures of European Union Judicature
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ABSTRACT:

In many ways, the success of the European Union as a polity is dependent on the effectiveness of its legal order, and that in turn on the effectiveness of its judicature in ensuring observance of EU law. The role played by the European Court of Justice in this respect is a success story; and yet, for more than three decades now, its constant companion have also been the threat of an overflowing caseload and calls for a much needed reform to the system. This paper traces the development of the Luxembourg court system and its various reforms, but also points to their shortcomings – the most general of these being that the changes introduced provide little more than temporary relief. The reason may well be in a (real or perceived) impasse where too drastic a change in any direction would seemingly jeopardise the lauded virtues of the existing system; but it is submitted that the worst outcome would be to stay put, and that changes to the system should be explored where they are most easily implemented and most likely to already have begun – the national courts.

keywords
EU law
judicial review
European Court of Justice
national courts
preliminary rulings
about the authors

Matej Accetto studied law at the University of Ljubljana, taking his LL.B. in 2000; he then received an LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 2001 and a Doctorate in Law from the University of Ljubljana in 2006, where he is Assistant Professor (Docent) of European Law. His other relevant positions and affiliations include a stage at the Court of Justice of the European Union (2003), the Lord Slynn of Hadley European Law Foundation Fellowship (2003–04) and the post-doctoral Monica Partridge Visiting Fellowship at the University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam College (2006).

e-mail: matej.accetto@pf.uni-lj.si