AMENDMENTS TO THE PRACTICE RULES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE GENERAL COURT
THE GENERAL COURT,
Having regard to Article 224 of its Rules of Procedure;
Having regard to the Practice Rules for the Implementation of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court;
Whereas the General Court adopted amendments to its Rules of Procedure on 30 November 2022 (1);
Whereas the new rules on the omission of data vis-à-vis the public, on joint hearings and on videoconferencing for hearings are such that certain points of the Practice Rules should be supplemented and adapted accordingly;
Whereas it is also desirable, in the interests of the parties and of the General Court, to improve the readability of the provisions relating to the formal presentation of an application and of the schedule of annexes in order to reduce the number of cases requiring regularisation;
Whereas it is appropriate to clarify the manner in which certain Registry tasks are to be performed, particularly those relating to the keeping of the register, maintenance of the case file and inspection of the case file, in particular in view of changes made during the health crisis;
whereas the digitisation of the judicial process and the implementation, in the course of 2022, of the qualified electronic signature for judgments and orders of the General Court have various consequences which must be taken into account, in particular as regards the requirements relating to the Registry’s scale of charges and the archiving of the originals of judicial decisions;
HAS ADOPTED THESE AMENDMENTS TO THE PRACTICE RULES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE GENERAL COURT:
Article 1
The Practice Rules for the Implementation of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court (2) are hereby amended as follows:
| (1) | In point 1, the words ‘, and for the custody of the seals of the Court.’ are replaced by ‘, and for the custody of the seals of the Court and the archives.’. |
| (2) | In point 10, the words ‘They shall be made in the language of the case and contain the information necessary for identifying the document, in particular the date of lodgement, the date of registration, the number of the case and the nature of the document.’ are replaced by ‘They shall be made in the language of the case. They shall contain in particular the date of lodgement, the date of registration, the number of the case and the nature of the document.’. |
| (3) | After point 10, the following point 10a is inserted:
| ‘10a. | The date of lodgement referred to in point 10 above shall be, depending on the circumstances: the date referred to in Article 5 of the decision of the Court of 11 July 2018, the date on which the document was received by the Registry, the date referred to in point 7 above, or the date referred to in the second indent of Article 3 of the decision of the Court of 14 September 2016. In the cases provided for by the first paragraph of Article 54 of the Statute, the date of lodgement referred to in point 10 above shall be the date on which the procedural document was lodged, via e-Curia, with the Registrar of the Court of Justice or, in the case of a document lodged as referred to in Article 147(6) of the Rules of Procedure, the date on which the document was lodged with the Registrar of the Court of Justice.’. | |
| (4) | The text of points 12, 13 and 14 is replaced by ‘[Text deleted]’. |
| (5) | In point 20, the words ‘Where the Court of Justice refers a case back to the Court following the setting aside or review of a decision, that case shall be given the number’ are replaced by ‘Where the Court of Justice refers a case back to the Court following the setting aside of a decision, that case shall be given the number’. |
| (6) | Point 21 is replaced by the following:
| ‘21. | The serial number of the case and the parties shall be indicated on the procedural documents, in correspondence relating to the case, and also in the publications of the Court and in the documents and information which relate to the case and to which the public has access. Where data are omitted pursuant to Article 66 or Article 66a of the Rules of Procedure, the names of the parties shall be adapted accordingly.’. | |
| (7) | Points 22 and 23 are replaced by the following:
| ‘22. | The case file shall contain the procedural documents (where applicable together with the annexes thereto) and any other document taken into account in the determination of the case, and also the correspondence with the parties and proof of service. It shall also contain, where applicable, extracts from Chamber conference minutes, the minutes of the meeting with the parties, the report for the hearing, minutes of the hearing and minutes of the inquiry hearing, and the decisions taken and matters noted by the Registry in the case. |
| 23. | Any document placed on the case file must bear the register number referred to in point 10 above and a serial number. In addition, procedural documents lodged by the parties and any copies thereof must bear the date of lodgement and the date of entry in the register in the language of the case.’. | |
| (8) | In point 28, the words ‘The closed file shall contain a list of all the documents on the case file, an indication of their number, and a cover page showing the serial number of the case, the parties and the date on which the case was closed.’ are replaced by ‘The closed file shall contain a list of all the documents on the case file and a declaration by the Registrar confirming that the file is complete.’. |
| (9) | The title of Part E.2. is replaced by the following: ‘E.2. Inspection and obtaining copies of the case file’ |
| (10) | Point 30 is replaced by the following:
| ‘30. | The representatives of the main parties may inspect the case file, including administrative files produced before the Court, at the Registry.’. | |
| (11) | Points 32 and 33 are replaced by the following:
| ‘32. | In joined cases, the representatives of all parties shall have the right to inspect the files in the cases concerned by the joinder, subject to Article 68(4) of the Rules of Procedure. However, no such right of inspection shall apply where a joint hearing is organised in accordance with Article 106a of the Rules of Procedure. |
| 33. | A person who has made an application for legal aid pursuant to Article 147 of the Rules of Procedure without the assistance of a lawyer shall have the right to inspect the file relating to the legal aid. Where a lawyer is designated to represent that person, that representative alone shall have the right to inspect that file.’. | |
| (12) | After point 36, the following points 36a and 36b are inserted:
| ‘36a. | At the request of a party, the Registrar shall supply a copy of documents on the case file, if necessary in a non-confidential version, and of extracts from the register. |
| 36b. | At the request of a third party, the Registrar shall supply a copy of judgments or orders, provided that those decisions are not already publicly accessible and do not contain confidential information, and of extracts from the register.’. | |
| (13) | The points in Part F. are replaced by the following:
| ‘37. | Originals of judgments and orders of the Court shall be signed by means of a qualified electronic signature. They shall be stored in an unalterable electronic format, in chronological order, on a special server reserved for long-term archiving. The electronic copy of the certified version of the judgment or order shall be printed and placed on the case file. |
| 40. | Orders rectifying a judgment or an order, judgments or orders interpreting a judgment or an order, judgments given on applications to set aside judgments by default, judgments given and orders made in third-party proceedings or on applications for revision and which are signed by means of a qualified electronic signature shall be stored on a special server reserved for long-term archiving together with, and inextricably linked to, the relevant judgment or order of the Court signed by means of a qualified electronic signature and a document containing explanatory statements signed by the Registrar. |
| 40a. | Where the judgment or order of the Court has been signed by hand, the decision of the Court rectifying, interpreting or revising the judgment or order concerned and which has been signed by means of a qualified electronic signature shall be mentioned in the margin of the judgment or order concerned. The copy of the certified version of the decision signed by means of a qualified electronic signature shall be printed and appended to the original of the judgment or order in paper form. |
| 40b. | Where a decision of the Court signed by means of a qualified electronic signature has given rise to a decision of the Court of Justice on appeal, that decision shall be kept in paper form together with, and inextricably linked to, the version of the relevant judgment or order of the Court of Justice as transmitted to the Court Registry and explanatory statements, signed by the Registrar, in the margin of the Court’s decision. |
| 40c. | Decisions of the Court signed by means of a qualified electronic signature which have given rise to a decision of the Court of Justice on appeal shall be stored on a special server reserved for long-term archiving together with, and inextricably linked to, the version of the relevant judgment or order of the Court of Justice as transmitted to the Court Registry and a document containing explanatory statements signed by the |
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