Koen Lenaerts from Belgium has been re-elected as President of the Court of Justice (ECJ) of the European Union for the fourth time.
The court announced on Tuesday that his new term will last until 6 October 2027. Lenaerts, aged 69, has been affiliated with the Court since 1984. In the late 1980s, he briefly practised as a lawyer at the Brussels Bar, but he has served as a ECJ judge since 1989.
Initially, he was part of the General Court, a division of the EU Court, and since 2003 he has been on the main Court. On 8 October 2015, Lenaerts was first elected as President by his fellow judges. His previous, third term ended on 6 October, and his fourth term commenced on Tuesday.
The Court of Justice comprises one judge from each member state and eleven advocates-general. They are appointed by the member states for a renewable term of six years. From among their ranks, they elect a President for a renewable term of three years. Lenaerts was reappointed by the federal government as a judge in 2020, a mandate also ending on 6 October 2027.
The Court of Justice is one of the most important institutions of the European Union. Based in Luxembourg, its judges ensure that European law is interpreted and applied uniformly across all member states. The Court has played a significant role in shaping the development of the European Union over the past decades.
