Court of Justice of the European Union

The Court of Justice of the European Union interprets EU law to ensure it is applied uniformly across member states and rules on disputes between national governments and EU institutions. It comprises the Court of Justice proper, sitting as chambers of three or five judges, a Grand Chamber of fifteen, or in exceptional cases the full court, and the General Court, which handles direct actions and specialised matters such as VAT, customs and air-passenger compensation. It began as the Court of Justice of the European Coal and Steel Community, established by the Treaty of Paris (signed 18 April 1951), and held its first formal sitting on 4 December 1952 in the Villa Vauban, Luxembourg, with Massimo Pilotti as its first President. It was renamed the Court of Justice of the European Communities in 1958 and took its current name and two-court structure with the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009.