Case Law Review of the Court of Justice of the European Union

Abstract

This Chronicle analyses just over 10% of judgments delivered in the first half of 2025 by the Court of Justice but aims to offer some novel and salient aspects of European case law. The first part of the Chronicle highlights the efforts of the Court of Justice to establish a European statute for judges based on principles such as economic independence, irremovability, impartiality and integrity. In addition, the area of freedom, security and justice is allowing new developments in the interpretation of the harmonisation of criminal legislation and the Charter on such relevant issues as the legal assistance of vulnerable persons or the limits imposed by common sense on the harmonisation of criminal offences such as those committed by asylum seekers accompanied by minors in their custody. The other judgments concern traditional areas such as competition law (actions for damages, State aid in the form of tax exemptions), public procurement, the culture of prompt payment, consumer protection, the shared management of European funds and the specificities of the European railway area. The second part of the Chronicle examines more fully the references for a preliminary ruling from Spanish courts, which make it possible to clarify the judicial review by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, discrimination on grounds of sex in matters of social security (the calculation of the accident pension when there is a reduction in the working time and the gender gap of male parents), the limits on the discharge of debts of natural persons and the protection of consumers either through the legitimation of associations or against unfair terms.