ABSTRACT
The existence of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is conditional on recognition by the Member States, by the institutions and by individuals of the binding nature of its rules. The Court of Justice, that is charged with ensuring that in the interpretation and application of the Treaties the law is observed, is responsible for monitoring the legality of acts and the uniform application of the common rules. Attached to the ECJ is the Court of First Instance, which came into being by virtue of Article 235, an amendment introduced by the Single European Act, and opened its doors on 24 October 1988. Such a new body had been proposed by the ECJ in 1978, as a means of reducing its excessive workload. In May 1999 the Court presented the Council with proposals for radical reform. One striking measure of its workload is the increases in cases coming before it, from 145 in 1990 to over 1,000 in 1998.
