With a Solemn Audience on 4 December, the European Court of Justice (http://curia.eu.int) will celebrate its 50th anniversary. The ceremony will take place at the Court’s headquarters in Luxembourg in the presence of the political and judicial authorities of member states and candidate countries. In 1952, the Treaty of Paris established the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). To guarantee the observance of Community law in the interpretation and application of its founding Treaties, the six founding members of the ECSC agreed to establish the Court of Justice, with its seat in Luxembourg. It was then confirmed by the Treaty of Rome on the European Economic Community (EEC) and on the European Atomic Energy Commission (EURATOM) in 1957. Following the successive enlargements of the European Union, the Court is now composed of 15 Judges divided into six sections and eight General Advocates nominated by common agreement by the governments for a term of six years renewable. The Court has helped to turn the Union into a community of law defined by two fundamental principles: the direct efficacy of EU law in the member states and the precedence of EU over national provisions.
