News / General

The Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ) is celebrating its first fifty years (including the period when the Court was the "High Authority " for the Coal and Steel Community). It has been a unique innovation and it has been fascinating over the years to see the effect of cross-fertilisation of legal systems and legal thinking. By a process of osmoses a strong institution has emerged with a very heavy work-load and a long line of fascinating jurisprudence. Scotland has produced two of the leading judges over this period, Lord Mackenzie -Stuart, now sadly no longer with us, and Judge David Edward whose contribution, not just to the work of the Court but also in enhancing the knowledge of the profession in Scotland on matters European, is immeasurable. He has always given of his time and his talents to bring Europe home to Scots lawyers and has always encouraged young lawyers from all over Europe in the pursuit of their careers. When a party of SLAS members visited Luxembourg two years ago Judge Edward made himself available to meet us and to spend time in a busy schedule to speak to the group on the work of the Court.