Lawyers of the Constitutional Court on an experience sharing visit at the Court of Justice of the European Union and the General Court of the European Union
From 26 to 28 November, Head of the Legal Department of the Constitutional Court Alla Spale, Court’s Adviser Sandijs Statkus and Justices’ Assistant Andris Pumpišs paid an experience sharing visit to the General Court of the European Union (hereafter – GCEU) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereafter – CJEU) in Luxemburg. They met Judge of GCEU Inga Reine, Judge’s Assistant Vineta Bei, Advocate General of CJEU Eleanor V. E. Sharpston, and several other employees of CJEU and GCEU.
Delegation of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia with Judge of GCEU Inga Reine, Judge’s Assistants Vineta Bei and Ieva Freija, lawyer of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Photo: Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia.
During the visit, the employees of the Constitutional Court had the opportunity to find out how daily work was organised in CJEU and GCEU and the process of preparing cases, as well as to be present at two court hearings. The case reviewed by CJEU (C-41/19 FX) pertained to a request for a preliminary ruling regarding enforcement in Germany of a judgement that had been passed in Poland. The case examined by GCEU (T-63/19 Rot Front / EUIPO), in turn, dealt with the issue of registering a trademark. The Constitutional Court’s employees also visited the library of CJEU and formed an impression of the information resources available there.
The experience gained is very valuable since the new knowledge will lead to an in-depth understanding of the specificity of GCEU’s and CJEU’s work and will also make searching for information on cases heard by the court more effective. The visit was a valuable step towards promoting cooperation between GCEU and the Constitutional Court.
The visit was organised by the Constitutional Court in cooperation with the office of GCEU Judge Inga Reine. The purpose of the visit was fostering judicial dialogue and experience sharing, providing an opportunity to the Constitutional Court’s employees to become familiar with the daily work of GCEU as well as to gain knew knowledge and adopt new practical skills for increasing the effectiveness of work. There are plans to continue this initiative.
Delegation of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia in the Courtroom the Court of Justice of the European Union. Photo: Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia.