José Luís da Cruz Vilaça considers that “the central role of lawyers, considered as 'agents of justice', in litigation before the Court of Justice, does not require demonstration”. This thesis was brought forward at the opening session of the seminar ‘Litigation at the Court of Justice of the European Union - Practical Approaches to European Litigation’, organized by the Délégation des Barreaux de France, which took place on March 20th 2019 in Paris.

Speaking on the topic ‘The central role of lawyers in the case law of the EU Court of Justice’, the former judge of the Court of Justice of the EU highlighted the participation in the seminar of a ‘large number of young lawyers’ and the ‘real interest’ in EU Law.

‘The presence of a large number of young lawyers at this seminar bears witness to the real interest in European Union Law; a Law which is constantly evolving and has become a part of our European institutional framework since a few years, and also of our legal daily life in ever wider areas, as a consequence of its incorporation into the national law of all Member States’, said Cruz Vilaça.

The seminar ‘Litigation at the Court of Justice of the European Union - Practical Approaches to European Litigation’ brought together leading players in the field of litigation from various European institutions (Court of Justice of the European Union, European Commission, European Ombudsman), from the Government of France (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), from legal practice in law firms, and from the university world.

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