There are currently two institutions that hear European Union cases: the Court of Justice (also informally known as: the European Court of Justice (ECJ)) and the General Court. The General Court was originally called The Court of First Instance (CFI). Between 2004 and 2016, there was also another specialised court called the Civil Service Tribunal (CST) to deal with cases relating to the staff of EU institutions. The General Court now deals with case involving staff of EU institutions.
(or its official title Court of Justice of the European Communities) was created by the Treaty of Rome, and interprets an applies European Union law as found in the treaties and legislation.
was created in 1989 to assist with the case load of the ECJ, and principally hears cases dealing with competition law, dumping, subsidies and staff grievances. Decisions of the Court of First Instance can be referred to the European Court of Justice for appeal.
