Nicolas: Create EU jurisdiction reference page (via create-page on MediaWiki MCP Server)

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= European Legal System =

Jurisdiction code: <code>eu</code>. Language: <code>fr</code> only (current limitation; multi-language planned). Covers EU law (EUR-Lex, CJEU) and Council of Europe (ECHR).

== Court structure ==

=== court_level mapping (T1 tag) ===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! court_level !! Court (court tag) !! Institution !! Notes
|-
| <code>supranational</code> || Court of Justice (<code>cjeu</code>) || CJEU || Highest EU court; preliminary rulings, appeals from General Court
|-
| <code>supranational</code> || ECHR (<code>echr</code>) || Council of Europe || 46 member states; human rights
|-
| <code>first_instance</code> || General Court (<code>general_court</code>) || CJEU || Direct actions: competition, state aid, trademarks
|-
| <code>first_instance</code> || Civil Service Tribunal (<code>civil_service_tribunal</code>) || CJEU || '''Dissolved 2016''' — competence transferred to General Court
|}

=== CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) ===

Two active courts:
* '''Court of Justice''' (''Cour de justice''): highest EU court. Preliminary rulings (art. 267 TFEU), appeals from General Court, infringement proceedings.
* '''General Court''' (''Tribunal''): direct actions — competition, state aid, trademarks, EU staff disputes (since 2016).

'''Procedure types''':
{| class="wikitable"
! Type !! Treaty basis !! Description
|-
| Preliminary ruling || Art. 267 TFEU || National court asks CJEU to interpret EU law. CJEU answers; does NOT decide national case.
|-
| Annulment || Art. 263 TFEU || Challenge legality of EU act
|-
| Infringement || Art. 258-260 TFEU || Commission vs. member state for failure to comply
|-
| Opinion || Art. 218 TFEU || Compatibility of international agreement with treaties
|}

=== ECHR (European Court of Human Rights) ===

Covers 46 Council of Europe member states (broader than EU). Application number format: <code>NNNNN/YY</code> (e.g., 36022/97).

'''Margin of appreciation''': ECHR grants states discretion on sensitive topics (morals, religion, national security). A ruling against Italy does NOT automatically apply to France. Filter by respondent state: <code>tags={"respondent_state": "FRA"}</code> (3-letter ISO codes).

== CJEU publication grades (official_grade) ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Grade !! Label !! importance_level
|-
| <code>ecr_grand_chamber</code> || Published in ECR (Grand Chamber) || highest_importance
|-
| <code>ecr_chamber</code> || Published in ECR (Chamber) || high_importance
|-
| <code>oj_only</code> || Published in OJ only (not in ECR) || low_importance
|-
| <code>unpublished</code> || Unpublished || minimal_importance
|}

ECR = European Court Reports. OJ = Official Journal (series C).

== ECHR importance grades (official_grade) ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Grade !! Label !! importance_level
|-
| <code>1</code> || Key case (ECHR Reports of Judgments and Decisions) || highest_importance
|-
| <code>2</code> || High importance || high_importance
|-
| <code>3</code> || Medium importance || medium_importance
|-
| <code>4</code> || Low importance || low_importance
|}

== Formation / solemnity system ==

=== CJEU formations ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Formation !! Solemnity tag !! Notes
|-
| Single judge || <code>single_judge</code> ||
|-
| Chamber (3 judges) || <code>reduced_bench</code> ||
|-
| Chamber (5 judges) || <code>standard_bench</code> ||
|-
| Grand Chamber (15 judges) || <code>grand_bench</code> ||
|-
| Full Court (all judges) || <code>full_court</code> || Rare; constitutional matters
|}

=== ECHR formations ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Formation !! Solemnity tag !! Notes
|-
| Single Judge || <code>single_judge</code> || Admissibility only
|-
| Committee (3 judges) || <code>reduced_bench</code> || Repetitive cases
|-
| Section / Chamber (7 judges) || <code>standard_bench</code> || Standard formation
|-
| Grand Chamber (17 judges) || <code>grand_bench</code> || Relinquishment or referral; highest authority
|}

== EU legislation ==

=== Hierarchy ===

Treaties (TEU, TFEU, Charter of Fundamental Rights) > Regulations > Directives > Decisions > Recommendations/Opinions (non-binding)

=== Key types ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Type !! Effect !! Direct effect !! Tag example
|-
| '''Regulation''' (''reglement'') || Directly applicable in all member states || Full (vertical + horizontal) || <code>tags={"nature": "REGLEMENT"}</code>
|-
| '''Directive''' || Binds as to result; requires national transposition || Vertical only (vs. State), after deadline || <code>tags={"nature": "DIRECTIVE"}</code>
|-
| '''Decision''' || Binding on addressees only || Depends on content ||
|-
| '''Recommendation''' || Non-binding || None ||
|}

=== CELEX numbers ===

Official EU identifier. Format: <code>3{year}{type}{number}</code>.

{| class="wikitable"
! Example !! Meaning
|-
| <code>32016R0679</code> || Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR)
|-
| <code>32016L0680</code> || Directive 2016/680 (Law Enforcement Directive)
|-
| <code>32004D0001</code> || Decision 2004/1
|}

Direct lookup: <code>get_document("32016R0679")</code> resolves to <code>EU.EURLEXTEXT32016R0679</code>.

=== Enforcement status ===

EU EUR-Lex emits only two values:

{| class="wikitable"
! Value !! Meaning
|-
| <code>in_force</code> || In force
|-
| <code>repealed</code> || Repealed — NEVER cite as current
|}

=== Direct effect and primacy ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Instrument !! Direct effect !! Notes
|-
| Regulation || Vertical + horizontal || No transposition needed
|-
| Directive (after deadline) || Vertical only (vs. State) || NOT horizontal (between private parties)
|-
| Directive (before deadline) || None || Must wait for transposition
|-
| All EU law || Primacy over national law || Costa v ENEL (1964)
|}

== Multilingual documents ==

EU texts exist in 24 official languages, all equally authentic (TFEU art. 55).

Each language version is a separate document with a <code>:lang</code> suffix in the ID:
* <code>EU.EURLEXTEXT32016R0679:fr</code> — GDPR in French
* <code>EU.EURLEXTEXT32016R0679:en</code> — GDPR in English

The cross-language identifier <code>tags.text_id</code> is unsuffixed (<code>EU.EURLEXTEXT32016R0679</code>). The <code>language</code> parameter narrows results to the requested language.

Documents ingested in a fallback language (e.g., EN-only when no FR available) carry <code>tags.translation_pending="fr"</code>.

== Advocate General opinions ==

Separate documents (<code>kind=decision, type=advisory_opinion</code>). Precede the judgment, provide more detailed reasoning. Not binding but highly persuasive — often followed by the Court. Linked to judgments via edges when available.

'''Current limitation''': AG opinions are not yet ingested. <code>type=advisory_opinion</code> with <code>jurisdiction="eu"</code> returns 0 results.

== Charter of Fundamental Rights ==

Treaty-level value since Lisbon Treaty (2009). Binds EU institutions and member states when implementing EU law.

{| class="wikitable"
! Article !! Right
|-
| Art. 7 || Private and family life
|-
| Art. 8 || Protection of personal data
|-
| Art. 21 || Non-discrimination
|-
| Art. 47 || Right to effective remedy and fair trial
|}

'''Do not confuse''': Charter Art. 7 (private life) and Art. 8 (data protection) are separate from ECHR Convention Art. 8 (private life). Same wording, different instruments.

== What is NOT in the corpus ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Gap !! Notes
|-
| Advocate General opinions || Not yet ingested; planned
|-
| English-language documents || Only FR ingested currently; multi-language planned
|-
| EU national transposition measures || EUR-Lex transposition data may be incomplete — verify in FR sources
|-
| EU secondary legislation (delegated/implementing acts) || Partial coverage
|-
| Pre-accession case law for newer member states || Historical gaps
|}

== Practical notes ==

* '''Cross-border queries''': use <code>jurisdiction="eu|fr"</code> to combine EU and FR sources
* '''GDPR search tip''': "RGPD" as FTS term returns few EU results — prefer <code>"donnees a caractere personnel"</code> or <code>"protection des donnees"</code>, or direct CELEX: <code>get_document("32016R0679")</code>
* '''Transposition''': get_document() the directive, check edges for transposition links, then search FR sources
* '''Brexit''': UK no longer member state since 2020-01-31. Pre-Brexit case law involving UK still relevant for general EU law principles.
* '''Preliminary rulings''': CJEU interprets EU law but does NOT decide the national case. The national court applies the interpretation.

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]

Jurisdictions/EU - Revision history

Nicolas: Create EU jurisdiction reference page (via create-page on MediaWiki MCP Server)