§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be the main area of operation of the new European Court of First Instance; and whether its decisions will be limited to points of law.
§ Mrs. ChalkerUnder article 3 of the draft decision, the European Court of Justice proposes to transfer to the Court of the First Instance its jurisdiction in cases concerned with staff matters, competition and antidumping, steel and certain non-contractual liability claims. The Court of the First Instance will decide both facts and law; appeals to the European Court of Justice will be limited to points of law.
§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be the 183W additional cost of establishing a European Court of First Instance; and how many persons are likely to be employed by it.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe European Court has estimated that the proposal for a court comprising seven judges would cost £210,000 in new equipment and add £3.15 million to the annual budget of the court. A final position on the total number of judges of the court has not yet been reached. It is not possible at this stage to say how many staff will be employed by the Court of First Instance alone. It seems likely that some staff now employed by the Court of Justice would be attached to the Court of First Instance.