Lithuania's Kaleda found suitable candidate for EU General Court judge – ministry

VILNIUS – The Lithuanian Justice Ministry has confirmed that it has received a positive opinion on the suitability of Saulius Lukas Kaleda to serve as a judge at the EU General Court. 

The special panel informed Lithuania on Wednesday that it had found Kaleda to be a suitable candidate for the position.

Kaleda is now one step away from being appointed a General Court judge, which is obtaining the approval of a conference of representatives of the governments of the EU member states, the ministry told BNS. 

"This meeting of the representatives is scheduled to take place in early autumn," it said.  

The Lithuanian government formally nominated Kaleda for the position in April. His nomination was earlier approved by President Gitanas Nauseda and the parliament.

Currently, Kaleda is a member of the European Commission's Legal Service.  

He is a graduate of the Faculty of Law of Vilnius University, holds a Master's degree in Law from the University of Bonn and a Doctorate in Law from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. 

Kaleda has in the past worked at the Court of Justice of the EU. He served as a law clerk in the chambers of Judges Vilenas Vadapalas and Egidijus Bieliunas between 2004 and 2013 and held the same position in the chambers of Advocate General Maciej Szpunar from 2013 to 2017.

His past career also includes positions at the EC Directorate General for Internal Market, the European Law Department under the Lithuanian government, and the Insurance Supervisory Authority. 

Lithuania is currently represented in the EU General Court by two lawyers. The term of office of one of them, Virgilijus Valancius, ended back in August 2019, but he is staying on until a new judge is appointed. 

The General Court consists of two judges from each member state. The judges are appointed for a renewable term of six years. 

The court mainly hears cases involving complaints related to EU legislation, including member states' lawsuits against the European Commission.