Welcome to ERA – Academy of European Law

This seminar is addressed to civil servants of EU member states involved in representing the member state’s interests in European proceedings. It aims at familiarising the participants with three European law proceedings, namely infringement proceedings, the preliminary reference procedure and actions for annulment.

The representation of a member state’s interest in European proceedings concerns a large number of civil servants. While the actual representation in the written and oral proceedings at the Court of Justice is mostly carried out by a specific unit or department, the preparation of answers to the Commission in infringement proceedings and the drafting of observations in preliminary references involves civil servants from many different units or ministries within a member state, with different backgrounds and knowledge.

The seminar will address the three judicial remedies in which a civil servant is most likely to be involved: infringement proceedings (Art. 226 EC), the submission of observations in preliminary references (Art. 234 EC) and how to bring an action of annulment (Art. 230 EC). It will concentrate on the instances in these actions where a civil servant is most likely to be involved. The seminar will focus on the legal rules that apply to these actions, but it will also provide insight as to how one best represents the member state interest through informal means. In relation to infringement proceedings special attention will be given to the pre-litigation phase and how one best resolves matters without entering the litigation stage.

The participants will have the possibility to prepare for the course with an e-learning module. This module will help participants to update their knowledge on the various actions and the structure of the European judicial system.