Documentary visit to the Court of Justice of the European Union

In the context of the 2024 edition of the Winter (Online) Lecture Series on Europe, which were run in conjunction with Europe Direct at the University of Luxembourg (ED-UNILU) – a competitive European public history project co-funded by the European Union (2021-2025) – and several other partners, students of the course “History of European integration (1919-1993)” (MAHEC-142) from the Master in European Contemporary History visited the Court of Justice of the European Union on Wednesday 11 December. The students were accompanied by François Klein, a research scientist at C2DH.

The documentary visit on the premises of the CJUE included an in-person workshop with the Honorable Judge François Biltgen, who explained the institution’s structure and its mission to the students. Practical examples were used to illustrate the legal matters dealt with by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The workshop was followed by a guided tour, during which the students visited the Great Hall of the CJUE, where 15 judges of the European Union are present at hearings and rulings.

The CJEU comprises two courts: the Court of Justice, which deals with references for preliminary rulings from national courts, as well as certain actions for annulment and appeals and the General Court, which rules on actions for annulment brought by individuals, companies and, in some cases, Member States. The Court of Justice consists of one judge per Member State and 11 advocates-general and the General Court consists of two judges per Member State. The cases dealt with mainly concern competition law, state aid, trade, agriculture and trademarks.