COVID-19 and the Courts. The case of the CJEU

Abstract

The article describes the generally positive experience of Court of Justice of the European Union in managing the Covid-19 crisis. Before the outbreak of the Covid-19 crisis the Court had established an effective structure to cope with risks and issues related to pandemics. It benefited from an extensive migration to a modern computer operating system and the replacement of traditional desktop computers by portable devices capable of remotely connecting to the Court’s network. Appropriate teleworking and extensive dematerialisation and simplification of standard administrative procedures took place and proved their effectiveness. The disruptive dimensions of COVID-19 pandemic forced the CJEU to accelerate transformations – not only digital but managerial and judicial processes The author analyses several phases of organising the functioning of the Court during the pandemic and comes to the conclusion that that the Court proved to be well prepared to tackle the issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the quest of the future organisation will also have to do more with smart management and the new modes of working. Keywords: Justice, Court Administration, COVID-19, CJEU.