From 1 October 2024, the General Court will have jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings on the common system of VAT; excise duties; the Customs Code; the tariff classification of goods; compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding or of delay or cancellation of transport services; and the system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading.

The change is aimed at reducing the workload of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the sphere of preliminary rulings, especially in the context of a “significant structural increase in disputes” over the past five years.

The 2001 Treaty of Nice provided for the possibility of the General Court being involved in dealing with certain requests for a preliminary ruling.

In a statement, the CJEU said both the volume and complexity of the cases coming before the court had increased in recent years.

“The reform will allow the Court of Justice to focus on its mission of safeguarding and strengthening the unity and consistency of Union law,” it said.

“For its part, the General Court is in a position to absorb that additional workload and will deal with the questions referred for a preliminary ruling which are transmitted to it in such a way as to provide national courts and tribunals and interested persons with the same guarantees as are provided by the Court of Justice.”