Court of Justice of the European CommunitiesInstitution set up under Treaty of Rome to ensure that in interpretation and application of the Treaty the law is observed. It consists of judges from each member state, appointed for 6-year periods, assisted by three Advocates General. It sits in Luxembourg, expressing itself in judgements when called upon to do so in proceedings initiated by member states, institutions of the EC and natural or legal persons. Procedures are generally inquisitorial
European CommunitiesThe collective body that resulted in 1967 from the merger of the administrative networks of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and the European Economic Community (EEC). The singular term has also been widely used