Directorate-General for Legal Service

The Legal Service was founded in 1952 as the Legal Service of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). It was the vision of its first director, Michel Gaudet, to have a ‘corps of jurists’ to give legal advice to and act as legal representatives of the predecessors of the commission.{{cite journal |last1=A. Boerger, M. Rasmussen |title=The Making of European Law: Exploring the Life and Work of Michel Gaudet |journal=American Journal of Legal History |date=2017 |pages=57, 51–82}}

1958–1967. After the establishment of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), the three organizations – collectively referred to as the European Communities (EC) – had one Legal Service structured into three separate branches. The first leaders (directors, from 1960 director-generals) of these branches were Michel Gaudet (EEC), Robert Krawielicki (ECSC) and Theo Vogelaar (Euratom).{{cite book |last1=Gilsdorf |first1=Peter |title=Le Service Juridique de la Commission |date=2003 |page=4}}{{cite journal |last1=Boerger; Rasmussen |title=The Making of European Law: Exploring the Life and Work of Michel Gaudet |journal=American Journal of Legal History |date=2017 |page=52}}

The Merger Treaty (or the Treaty of Brussels, signed on 8 April 1965 and implemented on 1 July 1967) established that the executive organs, the Commission and the Council of the EEC should replace the Council and the Commission of the Euratom, as well as the Council and High Authority of the ESCS.{{cite web |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/in-the-past/the-parliament-and-the-treaties/merger-treaty|title=Merger Treaty}} Following its entry into force, the three branches of the Legal Service were fused into a single department thus creating a unified Legal Service for the still legally independent European Communities.{{cite book |last1=Gilsdorf |first1=Peter |title=Le Service Juridique de la Commission |date=2003 |page=5}}

The original, core functions of the Legal Service – the exclusive right to represent the Commission in courts and to give vis-à-vis legal advice to the Directorate-Generals on the interpretation of European law – did not change essentially since its creation. As the Legal Service is a “service of services”, its development followed that of the Commission's: its tasks are more diverse (as it deals with the legal background of all the commission's work), and the number of its members now exceeds 400 (including support staff). It always has, and - still does - play a uniquely central role in the executive branch of the European Union. The director-general still attends all meetings of the College of Commissioners.{{cite book |last1=Ronkes Agerbeek |first1=Felix |title='The Legal Service of the European Commission' in The New EU Judiciary - An Analysis of Current Judicial Reform |date=2017 |publisher=Wolters Kluwer |pages=221–223 |edition=Emmanuel Guinchard, Marie-Pierre Granger}}

The mission of the Legal Service is twofold:

• drafting legislation
• conducting international negotiations
• acting as guardian of the Treaties
• exercising the implementing powers conferred on it by the Community legislator or by the Treaties{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/legal_service/mission_en.htm|title=European Commission - Legal Service - mission}}

In their capacity as legal advisers, members of the Legal Service participate in inter-house consultations with other departments of the commission. Given its special role and the general rules of professional ethics, the members cannot give legal advice to individuals.{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/legal_service/legal_adviser_en.htm|title=European Commission - Legal Service - the Commission's legal adviser}}

The Legal Service also ensures the quality of legislation: its Quality of Legislation (LEG) team consults other departments from the point of view of legislative drafting rules.

The Legal Service's role as agent of the Commission in court is comparable to the traditional role of legal counsel: the Legal Service is the in-house counsel to the commission.{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/legal_service/mission_en.htm|title=European Commission - Legal Service - mission}}{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/legal_service/index_en.htm#:~:text=The%20European%20Commission%E2%80%99s%20Legal%20Service%20The%20Legal%20Service,advice%20to%20the%20Commission%20and%20its%20services%2C%20and|title = European Commission - Legal Service - Home page}} According to Commission decision EEC of 8 July 1959, the Legal Service is the only entity authorized to represent the commission before the Courts, meaning the following jurisdictions: the jurisdictions of the European Union, national courts and tribunals (mostly for debt recovery), international courts (mainly WTO), the EFTA Court, the arbitral tribunals, such as ICSID (International Center for Settlements of Investment Dispute), Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), and amicus curiae. Most of the cases are before the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg.{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/legal_service/index_en.htm#:~:text=The%20European%20Commission%E2%80%99s%20Legal%20Service%20The%20Legal%20Service,advice%20to%20the%20Commission%20and%20its%20services%2C%20and|title = European Commission - Legal Service - Home page}} The director-general is empowered to designate the agents to act in front of the courts. In the most important cases, the director-general himself represents the Commission in front of the Court of Justice.{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/legal_service/director_en.htm|title=European Commission - Legal Service - Director general}}

The Legal Service is a horizontal service department directly under the authority of the President of the commission. The head of the Legal Service is its Director-General (currently: Daniel Calleja Crespo), who is assisted by a deputy director-general (currently: Clemens Ladenburger).

The Legal Service is composed of 14 teams that are responsible for different legal areas and policies. A director who reports to the director-general leads each team. The members of the Legal Service are expected to carry out the two main functions of the Legal Service (representation in court cases and legal advice). The different teams often cooperate on issues requiring multiple areas of expertise.{{cite book |last1=Ronkes Agerbeek |first1=Felix |title='The Legal Service of the Commission', in The New EU Judiciary - An Analysis of Current Judicial Reforms |date=2017 |publisher=Wolter Kluwer |pages=221–223 |edition=Emmanuel Guinchard, Marie Pierre Granger}}

https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/organisation_charts/organisation-chart-legalservice_en.pdf

{{Reflist}}

• [https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/organisation_charts/organisation-chart-legalservice_en.pdf Organisation Chart of the Legal Service]
• https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/legal_service/index_en.htm#:~:text=The%20European%20Commission%E2%80%99s%20Legal%20Service%20The%20Legal%20Service,advice%20to%20the%20Commission%20and%20its%20services%2C%20and
• https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/legal-service_en

Legal Service