1.   Where the Statute or these Rules require that a document be served on a person, the Registrar shall ensure that service is effected either by electronic means or by the dispatch of a copy of the document by registered post with a form for acknowledgement of receipt, or by personal delivery of the copy against receipt.

2.   The Court shall determine, by decision, the criteria for a procedural document to be served by electronic means. That decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

3.   Where the addressee has agreed that service is to be effected on him by electronic means, in accordance with the criteria determined by the Court, any procedural document, including a judgment or order of the Court, shall be served by such means. Otherwise, service shall be effected at the addressee’s address for service or, if the addressee has not specified an address for service, at his address, either by the dispatch of a copy of the document by registered post with a form for acknowledgement of receipt or by personal delivery of the copy against receipt. The Registrar shall prepare and certify the copies of the documents to be served.

4.   Where, for technical reasons or on account of the nature or length of the document, a procedural document cannot be transmitted by electronic means, the document shall be served at the addressee’s address for service or, if the addressee has not specified an address for service, at his address in accordance with the procedures laid down in paragraph 3 of this Article. The addressee shall be so informed by any technical or electronic means of communication available to the Court and to the addressee. Service shall then be deemed to have been effected on the addressee by registered post on the 10th day following the lodging of the registered letter at the post office of the place in which the Court has its seat, unless it is shown by the acknowledgement of receipt that the letter was received on a different date or the addressee informs the Registrar, within three weeks of being informed as referred to above, that the document to be served has not reached him.’

1.   Where health, security or other serious reasons prevent the representative of a party or of an interested person referred to in Article 23 of the Statute from participating in a hearing in person, that representative may be authorised to take part in the hearing by videoconference. That rule shall also apply to the parties to the main proceedings where, in accordance with the national rules of procedure applicable, those parties are permitted to bring or defend court proceedings without being represented by a lawyer.

2.   The request to participate in the hearing by videoconference shall be made by a separate document as soon as the reason for the impediment is known and shall state the precise nature of the impediment.

3.   The President shall decide on the request as soon as possible.

4.   The use of videoconferencing shall not be possible in the event of a decision by the Court to hear a case in camera pursuant to Article 79 of these Rules.

5.   The technical conditions to be satisfied by those wishing to participate in a hearing by videoconference shall be laid down in the Practice Directions to parties adopted on the basis of Article 208 of these Rules.’

1.   The oral proceedings shall be opened and directed by the President, who shall be responsible for the proper conduct of the hearing.

2.   The members of the formation of the Court and the Advocate General may in the course of the hearing put questions to the agents, advisers or lawyers of the parties and, in the circumstances referred to in Article 47(2) of these Rules, to the parties to the main proceedings or to their representatives.’

1.   Hearings of the Court may be broadcast. The broadcast shall take place live when it relates to the delivery of judgments or Opinions, and with a delay when it relates to oral pleadings made by the parties or by the interested persons referred to in Article 23 of the Statute in a case referred to the full Court, to the Grand Chamber, or, exceptionally, where this is justified by the importance of the case, to a Chamber of five Judges.

2.   Where the Court intends to broadcast a hearing, the parties or the interested persons referred to in Article 23 of the Statute shall be so informed by the Registry when they are given notice to attend the hearing.

3.   A party or an interested person referred to in Article 23 of the Statute who considers that the hearing which he has been given notice to attend should not be broadcast shall inform the Court of this as soon as possible, setting out in detail the circumstances that justify a decision not to broadcast the hearing.

4.   The President shall decide on that request as soon as possible, after hearing the Judge-Rapporteur and the Advocate General.

5.   The video recordings of hearings that have been broadcast shall remain available on the website of the Court of Justice of the European Union for a maximum period of one month after the close of the hearing.

6.   Where a party or an interested person referred to in Article 23 of the Statute considers that the video recording of a hearing in which he took part should be removed from that website, he shall inform the Court of this as soon as possible, setting out the circumstances that justify that removal.

7.   The President shall decide on that request forthwith, after hearing the Judge-Rapporteur and the Advocate General.

8.   The Court shall determine, by way of decision, the rules and arrangements for implementing the broadcasting of hearings. That decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.’

1.   Where the Court of Justice is seised of a request for a preliminary ruling, the Registry shall transmit that request forthwith to the President, the Vice-President and the First Advocate General.

2.   If, after analysing the request for a preliminary ruling, the President, having heard the Vice-President and the First Advocate General, considers that the request comes exclusively within one or more of the specific areas referred to in the first paragraph of Article 50b of the Statute, he shall so inform the Registry, which shall forthwith transmit the request to the Registry of the General Court. The proceedings shall then continue before the General Court in accordance with the provisions of its Rules of Procedure.

3.   If, following that analysis and after hearing the Vice-President and the First Advocate General, the President considers that although the request for a preliminary ruling comes within one or more of the specific areas referred to in the first paragraph of Article 50b of the Statute, it also concerns other areas or raises independent questions relating to the interpretation of primary law, public international law, general principles of Union law or the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, within the meaning of the second paragraph of Article 50b of the Statute, he shall immediately refer the request to the Court of Justice. If the Court of Justice considers that the request comes exclusively within one or more of the specific areas referred to in the first paragraph of Article 50b of the Statute, the Registry of the Court of Justice shall transmit that request forthwith to the Registry of the General Court and the proceedings shall continue before the General Court in accordance with the provisions of its Rules of Procedure. Otherwise, the proceedings shall continue before the Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of these Rules.

4.   Where a request for a preliminary ruling is transmitted to the Registry of the General Court in accordance with paragraph 2 or 3 of this Article, that Registry shall so inform the referring court or tribunal.’

1.   Where the referring court or tribunal has rendered anonymous the request for a preliminary ruling or has decided to omit data relating to natural persons or entities concerned by the main proceedings, whether parties or third parties to those proceedings, the Court shall respect that anonymisation or omission in the proceedings pending before it.

2.   At the request of the referring court or tribunal, of a party to the main proceedings or of its own motion, the Court may also render anonymous the request for a preliminary ruling or decide to omit personal data relating to one or more natural persons concerned by the main proceedings, whether parties or third parties to those proceedings.’

1.   The procedural documents referred to in the preceding Article shall be deemed to have been lodged on the transmission to the Registry, by any technical or electronic means of communication available to the Court, of a copy of the signed original and the items and documents relied on in support of it, together with the schedule referred to in Article 57(3). The original of the document and the annexes referred to above shall be sent to the Registry immediately.

2.   Where the preceding Article requires that a document be served on or communicated to a person, such service or communication shall be effected by electronic means, in accordance with the criteria determined by the Court, where the addressee has agreed that service is to be effected on him by those means. Otherwise, such service or communication shall be effected by transmission of a copy of the document by any technical or electronic means of communication available to the Court and to the addressee.’

1.   Where the General Court, pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 256(3) TFEU, refers to the Court of Justice a request for a preliminary ruling requiring a decision of principle likely to affect the unity or consistency of Union law, that request shall be dealt with expeditiously.

2.   The President shall forthwith designate the Judge-Rapporteur responsible for the case and the First Advocate General shall designate an Advocate General.

3.   Where the written part of the procedure has already been closed when the case is referred to the Court of Justice, the interested persons referred to in Article 23 of the Statute may submit additional statements of case or written observations on the question of principle raised by the request for a preliminary ruling, within a time limit prescribed by the President, which shall not be less than 15 days.

4.   The Court of Justice shall give its ruling as soon as possible, where appropriate after hearing the oral observations of the interested persons referred to in Article 23 of the Statute and the Opinion of the Advocate General.’