Lithuanian government approves Davulis for EU General Court judge

VILNIUS – The Lithuanian government decided on Wednesday to nominate Tomas Davulis, dean of the Faculty of Law of Vilnius University, to the General Court of the European Union.

The Cabinet will now ask President Gitanas Nauseda to approve his nomination to the post.

Lithuania is currently represented in the General Court by Rimvydas Norkus, a former Supreme Court judge appointed to the EU court in 2019, and Virginijus Valancius. The latter's term of office ended in October 2019, but he is staying on until a new candidate has been approved.

Gediminas Mesonis, a former judge of the Lithuanian Constitutional Court, was approved by Lithuania’s authorities for the job in January 2019, but was rejected by a special panel in Luxembourg.

In July 2019, the government proposed Valancius for a second term in the General Court, but Nauseda did not approve his nomination.

In 2020, Evaldas Pasilis, the then prosecutor general, won the selection process for the position, but he failed to receive the green light from the president. 

The candidate selected by the Justice Ministry must be approved by the government and the president, and the parliament must vote on their nomination. If all these procedures are completed, the candidate's suitability is assessed by a special panel in Luxembourg.

The General Court mainly deals with actions against acts by EU institutions, including those lodged by the bloc's member countries against the European Commission. Its judges are appointed for a six-year term of office.