Directorate-General for Legal Service
The Legal Service of the European Commission is the in-house legal counsel to the commission, located in Brussels. It ensures that Commission decisions comply with EU law, preventing or reducing the risk of subsequent litigation. It provides legal advice to the commission and its departments, and represents the Commission in court cases.
Overview
| Established | 1952 |
| Polity | European Commission - European Union |
| Leader | Director-General |
| Teams | 14 |
| Responsible to | President of the Commission |
| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
History of the Legal Service
The Legal Service was founded in 1952 as the Legal Service of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community. It was the vision of its first director, Michel Gaudet, to have a ‘corps of jurists’ to give legal advice to and act as legal representatives of the predecessors of the commission.1958–1967. After the establishment of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, the three organizations – collectively referred to as the European Communities – had one Legal Service structured into three separate branches. The first leaders of these branches were Michel Gaudet, Robert Krawielicki and Theo Vogelaar.
The Merger Treaty established that the executive organs, the Commission and the Council of the EEC should replace the Council and the Commission of the Euratom, as well as the Council and High Authority of the ESCS. Following its entry into force, the three branches of the Legal Service were fused into a single department thus creating a unified Legal Service for the still legally independent European Communities.
The original, core functions of the Legal Service – the exclusive right to represent the Commission in courts and to give vis-à-vis legal advice to the Directorate-Generals on the interpretation of European law – did not change essentially since its creation. As the Legal Service is a “service of services”, its development followed that of the Commission's: its tasks are more diverse, and the number of its members now exceeds 400. It always has, and - still does - play a uniquely central role in the executive branch of the European Union. The director-general still attends all meetings of the College of Commissioners.
Mission of the Legal Service
The mission of the Legal Service is twofold:To provide legal advice to the Commission in its functions
- drafting legislation
- conducting international negotiations
- acting as guardian of the Treaties
- exercising the implementing powers conferred on it by the Community legislator or by the Treaties
The Legal Service also ensures the quality of legislation: its Quality of Legislation team consults other departments from the point of view of legislative drafting rules.
To represent the Commission in litigation
The Legal Service's role as agent of the Commission in court is comparable to the traditional role of legal counsel: the Legal Service is the in-house counsel to the commission. According to Commission decision EEC of 8 July 1959, the Legal Service is the only entity authorized to represent the commission before the Courts, meaning the following jurisdictions: the jurisdictions of the European Union, national courts and tribunals, international courts, the EFTA Court, the arbitral tribunals, such as ICSID, Permanent Court of Arbitration, and amicus curiae. Most of the cases are before the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. The director-general is empowered to designate the agents to act in front of the courts. In the most important cases, the director-general himself represents the Commission in front of the Court of Justice.Organization
The Legal Service is a horizontal service department directly under the authority of the President of the commission. The head of the Legal Service is its Director-General, who is assisted by a deputy director-general.The Legal Service is composed of 14 teams that are responsible for different legal areas and policies. A director who reports to the director-general leads each team. The members of the Legal Service are expected to carry out the two main functions of the Legal Service. The different teams often cooperate on issues requiring multiple areas of expertise.