EUECJ - Court of Justice of the European Communities (EU)
From the website of the public relations agency of the European Union (which, as of 2011-05-15, was at http://europa.eu/institutions/inst/justice/index_en.htm):
"The Court of Justice of the European Communities was set up under the ECSC Treaty in 1952. It is based in Luxembourg.
"Its job is to make sure that EU legislation is interpreted and applied in the same way in all EU countries, so that the law is equal for everyone. It ensures, for example, that national courts do not give different rulings on the same issue.
"The Court also makes sure that EU member states and institutions do what the law requires. The Court has the power to settle legal disputes between EU member states, EU institutions, businesses and individuals. The Court is composed of one judge per member state, so that all 27 of the EU’s national legal systems are represented. For the sake of efficiency, however, the Court rarely sits as the full court. It usually sits as a Grand Chamber of just 13 judges or in chambers of five or three judges....
"To help the Court of Justice cope with the large number of cases brought before it, and to offer citizens better legal protection, a Court of First Instance was created in 1988. This Court (which is attached to the Court of Justice) is responsible for giving rulings on certain kinds of case, particularly actions brought by private individuals, companies and some organisations, and cases relating to competition law. This court also has one judge from each EU country."
The official website of the EUECJ:
curia.europa.eu
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