Foreword

The Judges and Advocates General at the Court of Justice and the General Court of the European Union are appointed by mutual agreement of the Governments of the Member States, after consulting the panel provided for in Article 255 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

That panel was created by the Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force on 1 December 2009. Its task is to ‘give an opinion on candidates’ suitability to perform the duties of Judge and Advocate-General of the Court of Justice and the General Court before the governments of the Member States make the appointments’.

The panel began its work on 1 March 2010, immediately after the entry into force of the two decisions of 25 February 2010, 2010/124/UE and  2010/125/UE, by which the Council of the European Union laid down the operating rules of the panel and appointed the President and Members of the first panel.