The area of maritime, air and road transport has been subject of numerous decisions of the General Court of the EU. In these cases, the Court predominantly dealt with the issues of breaches of European competition law in general and abuse of a dominant position, state aids and public procurement, which is a direct consequence of the Court’s jurisdiction. On the other hand, 25 years ago, when the General Court started work under the name of the Court of First Instance, its competence was restricted to disputes regarding breaches of competition law. Several years later its jurisdiction was expanded to include state aids, public procurement, anti-dumping measures. Nowadays, the General Court is competent to decide in all lawsuits brought by both natural and legal persons against decisions of EU institutions and agencies, regardless of the area regulated by these decisions.
In order to provide a better understanding of the European legal framework appropriate for observing the different aspects of transport law, particularly the procedures before the General Court of the European Union in which natural and legal persons may seek protection of rights and interests in this area, this presentation will look at the principal issues of jurisdiction of the General Court, procedural legitimation of the parties, and the structure of the written and oral parts of the Court’s procedure. An analysis of procedural particularities of the General Court should provide a closer insight into its representative decisions in the area of transport.
