Official visit of the Court of Justice of the European Communities to Finland
formin.finland.fi(Link to another website.)
www.om.fi(Link to another website.)
www.kko.fi(Link to another website.)
www.kho.fi(Link to another website.)
Press release 141/2006
16 May, 2006
A delegation from the Court of Justice of the European Communities will make an official visit to Finland from 21 to 24 May. The visit of the delegation from the Court of Justice to Finland is in respond to an invitation from the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court. The delegation will be led by President Vassilios Skouris and will include 15 other members of the 34-member court.
On Monday 22 May, the delegation of the Court of Justice will meet with judges of Finnish courts, including Justices of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, Presidents of the Courts of Appeal, and Chief Judges of the regional Administrative Courts, the Market Court and the Insurance Court, at a seminar focusing on recent legal developments of common interest and, in particular, on the cooperation between the Court of Justice and national courts in the context of the procedure of references for a preliminary ruling.
Later on Monday, the delegation of the Court of Justice and their spouses will be received by the President of the Republic of Finland, Mrs Tarja Halonen. During their visit, the delegation will also meet the Prime Minister, Mr Matti Vanhanen, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Erkki Tuomioja, and the Minister of Justice, Mrs Leena Luhtanen.
On Tuesday 23 May, the programme will continue in Turku where the delegation will visit, among other places, Turku Court of Appeal and Turku Castle. On Wednesday 24 May, there will be a visit to the Finnish Parliament, where the delegation will meet the First Vice-Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Sirkka-Liisa Anttila, the Chair of the Grand Committee, Mr Jari Vilén, and the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Mrs Riitta-Leena Paunio.
FACTS ABOUT THE COURT OF JUSTICE
The European Court of Justice aims at ensuring consistent application of Community law throughout the EU. Its judgements are binding on all Member States.
The Court of Justice is composed of 25 Judges, one for each Member State. The Court is assisted by eight Advocate Generals who are responsible for presenting, with complete impartiality and independence, an opinion in the cases assigned to them, before the Court's judgment. Both the Judges and the Advocate Generals are appointed by common accord of the Member States’ governments for a term of six years. They may be re-elected. The Court's work is directed by the President, currently Mr Vassilios Skouris from Greece. The Finnish judge at the Court is Mr Allan Rosas.
The Court of Justice has jurisdiction over actions between EU institutions, part of actions brought by Member States against an EU institution, and actions brought by the European Commission against Member States for a failure to fulfil obligations under Community law. In addition, the Court of Justice gives preliminary rulings on the interpretation and validity of Community law upon references submitted by national courts.
So far, the Finnish courts have submitted a total of 43 references for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice, concerning the interpretation of Community law in particular cases. Of these, 7 have been made by the Supreme Court and 14 by the Supreme Administrative Court. Since Finland’s accession to the EU, the European Commission has brought 37 actions against Finland, for a failure to fulfil an obligation under Community law.
Apart from the Court of Justice, the European courts in Luxembourg include the Court of First Instance, with Virpi Tiili from Finland among its judges, and the recently established Civil Service Tribunal where one of the seven judges is Heikki Kanninen from Finland.
Further information: Tuula Pynnä, Justice, Supreme Administrative Court, tel: +358 10 3640 200, or Tommi Haaja, Head of the Information Service, Supreme Administrative Court, tel: +358 10 3640 206, e-mail: [email protected]