Amendments to the Practice Rules for the Implementation of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court [2025/810]

Official Journal EN of the European Union L series 2025/810 28.4.2025 AMENDMENTS TO THE PRACTICE RULES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE GENERAL COURT[2025/810] THE GENERAL COURT, Having regard to Article 243 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, when recasting the Practice Rules for the Implementation of its Rules of Procedure, decided not to make provision for the drawing up of a summary report for the hearing in preliminary ruling cases, in order to follow the current approach of the Court of Justice, which has abandoned this practice in all cases brought before it, in accordance with the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, as amended by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 741/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 August 2012 amending the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union and Annex I thereto (OJ 2012 L 228, p. 1);

Whereas, in direct actions, the summary report for the hearing is a case management tool the purpose of which is to allow the case to be summarised by grouping together or reformulating the pleas in law and arguments of the parties;

Whereas, however, its widespread use has an economic impact, generating a significant translation burden, as well as a procedural impact, in particular on the duration of proceedings, given that it must be finalised, translated and served, in principle, three weeks prior to the hearing;

Whereas with a view to facilitating the expeditious and targeted conduct of proceedings consistent with proactive case management, it is necessary to make provision for a summary report for the hearing to be drawn up only where the General Court or the Judge Rapporteur considers it appropriate to do so in the interests of the proper administration of justice;

Whereas the reports for the hearing drawn up in respect of a joint hearing constitute the only means of becoming acquainted with the pleas in law and arguments of all the parties to the cases which are the subject of that hearing;

Whereas, in practice, the drawing up of a single report for the hearing in certain joint hearings may prove beneficial, but is not expressly provided for by the current wording of the relevant provisions;

Whereas, in joint hearings, the report for the hearing in each case is drawn up in the language of, and is limited to the substance of, that case, although the language of each of the cases that are the subject of the joint hearing may be different;

Whereas, for reasons relating to the proper administration of justice, it is therefore appropriate to provide that a summary report for the hearing is to be drawn up separately for each of the cases concerned by the joint hearing or collectively for all of those cases, save where the General Court or the Judge Rapporteur decides otherwise, and that it is to be served on all parties to whom notice to attend that hearing has been given, in the language of each of the cases concerned;

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/proc_rules/2025/810/oj 1/2EN OJ L, 28.4.2025 HAS ADOPTED THESE AMENDMENTS TO THE PRACTICE RULES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF

THE GENERAL COURT:

Article 1 Points 210 and 211 of the Practice Rules for the Implementation of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court(1) are

hereby amended as follows: ‘210. Where the General Court or the Judge Rapporteur considers it appropriate to do so in the interests of the proper administration of justice, the Judge Rapporteur shall draw up a summary report for the hearing the purpose of which is to enable the parties to prepare for the hearing. The General Court will make every effort to ensure that the parties’ representatives receive the summary report for the hearing three weeks before the hearing.

211. Where the General Court decides to organise a joint hearing of two or more cases pursuant to Article 106a of the Rules of Procedure, a summary report for the hearing shall be drawn up separately for each of the cases concerned or collectively for all of those cases, save where the General Court or the Judge Rapporteur decides otherwise. Those reports or that report shall be served on all parties to whom notice to attend that hearing has been given, in the language of each of the cases concerned.’.

Article 2 These amendments to the Practice Rules for the Implementation of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

They shall enter into force on 1 June 2025.

Done at Luxembourg, 9 April 2025.

Registrar President V. DI BUCCI M. VAN DER WOUDE

(1) OJ L 2024/2097, 12.8.2024, corrigendum OJ L 2024/90651, 24.10.2024.

2/2 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/proc_rules/2025/810/oj