“Number of judges, their appointment, and duration of their term of office”: these are the points touched on by the chairman of the European Convention’s ‘discussion circle’ on the Court of Justice, European Commissioner Antonio Vitorino, in the report he presented to the Convention in recent days. As regards the number of judges, the majority of the members of the discussion circle recommend that the current principle “one member state/one judge” be maintained for the Court. As regards the appointment of judges, Vitorino’s report proposes that the current system, the principle whereby “the judges are nominated by their respective governments, with the assent of the member states”, also be maintained. But no unanimity of view was reached among the members of the ‘circle’ on this point. The European Commissioner also proposed the creation of a vetting committee, with the task of giving the member states an opinion “on the eligibility or not of a candidate’s character”. Former members of the Court, representatives of national supreme courts, could be included in such a committee. “The European Parliament added Vitorino could be involved in this procedure”. On the duration of judges’ terms of office, according to Antonio Vitorino, the future constitutional Treaty could draw a distinction between the Court and the Tribunal: the term of office of judges of the Court could by fixed at 12 years, non renewable; that of judges of the Tribunal, at 6 years, also non renewable.
