Domestic Judges Judging Judges – The European Court of Justice Pulls the Reins: Hann-Invest

In three joined pronouncements from mid-2024, collectively referred to here as Hann-Invest , the European Court of Justice decided to continue its incursion into the organisation of the domestic judiciary. We are thus confronted with a new instalment in the series that commenced back in 2018 with Associação Sindical dos Juízes Portugueses . Ostensibly, the present judgment engages with a procedural delicacy from Croatia. Potentially, however, it carries a wider significance for (the design and functioning of) judiciaries in other EU countries. The central issue is whether Union law allows for a so-called 'registration judge' to approve court rulings before they are officially issued, and whereby also so-called 'divisional meetings of judges' take place, capable of influencing, or even altering, those rulings' contents. Prima facie , the ECJ's answer looks predictable and uncontroversial. Simultaneously, it opens up a sizeable can of worms elsewhere, inviting critical comment on whether the Court missed the mark, while punching too powerfully.