EU Litigation

Founded 20 years ago by Philippe-Emmanuel Partsch, Arendt & Medernach’s European litigation practice is characterised by its mastery of all procedural and substantive aspects of European litigation. Several of our lawyers previously worked for EU institutions, mainly as legal secretaries (référendaires) at the EU courts, which provides us with exclusive insight and knowledge of litigation before the EU courts.

All procedures before EU courts for any subject matter

Procedures before the EU courts are specific and require particular knowledge and expertise. With their in-depth personal experience, our lawyers can avoid missteps and optimise the conditions under which our client’s case can be presented and heard. Our team is regularly in contact with the registries of the European courts.

We can assist and represent you in the full range of procedures (preliminary ruling, action for annulment, action for damages, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, action for failure to act, arbitration clause, interim measures, extremely urgent interim measures in public procurement matters and so on) and with any subject matter.

Alignment with your strategy 

The team has expertise in all aspects of litigation and will always appropriately prioritise the usefulness of litigation for the client’s overall strategy, such as ensuring that a decision is favourable to its interests, facilitating a settlement or defending the client’s financial interests and/or reputation.

EU treaties, institutions and internal market expertise

We possess a broad store of expertise ranging from legal issues related to the EU treaties (including the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights) and EU institutions, to internal market rules (such as free movement, competition law, State aid, banking and financial law, public procurement, tax law and EU staff law), among others.

Our team monitors the case law of the European courts on a daily basis and regularly publishes comments and reports on the most important judgments on a variety of topics

Language capabilities

Our diverse litigation team is able to handle cases in different languages (English, French, German, as well as Dutch, Portuguese and Italian). The team can also draw on Luxembourg’s largest and longest-established litigation department.

European court proceedings

Our team can take care of the legal assistance and representation of its clients before the European courts (preparation of pleadings, oral submissions, enforcement of judgments) throughout the entire proceedings. We can also advise on a case’s likelihood of success (on several occasions, we have accurately predicted the outcome and the reasoning of CJEU rulings), intervene alongside the client’s regular counsel and take part in rehearsals by playing the role of judges.

Being based in Luxembourg, where the Court of Justice of the EU is located, we do not charge additional travel or accommodation costs for taking part in a hearing in Luxembourg.

Other court proceedings and investigations

Arendt & Medernach’s European law practice extends beyond the European courts to encompass:

• Complaints procedures before the EU Commission for failure by Member States to comply with European law or for infringement of competition law
• Representation of clients in proceedings and/or investigations launched by the EU Commission
• Proceedings before the Ombudsman
• Complaints and cases before national competition authorities
• Technical assistance on European law to colleagues in cases before the national courts of various countries
• Litigation, particularly in competition law, before national courts, including private enforcement

Success before the EU courts

Examples of cases in which we successfully represented or assisted our clients before the EU courts include:

• Judgment of 26 April 2023 in Case T-54/21, OHB System v Commission (ECLI:EU:T:2023:210) (representing Airbus)

• Judgment of 19 October 2022 in Case T-717/20, Lenovo Global Technology Belgium v EuroHPC (ECLI:EU:T:2022:640) (representing EuroHPC)

• Judgment of 6 December 2017 in Case C-230/16, Coty Germany (ECLI:EU:C:2017:941) (representing the Luxembourg Government)

• Judgment of 13 July 2017 in Case C-133/16, Ferenschild (ECLI:EU:C:2017:541) (representing the applicant)

• Judgments of 12 February 2014 in Cases F-73/12, Bodson e.a. v EIB (ECLI:EU:F:2014:16) and F-83/12, Bodson e.a. v EIB (ECLI:EU:F:2014:15), confirmed on appeal by the judgments of 26 February 2016 in Cases T-240/14 P, Bodson e.a. v EIB  (ECLI:EU:T:2016:104) and T‑241/14 P, Bodson e.a. v EIB  (ECLI:EU:T:2016:103) and follow-up cases (representing the EIB)

• Opinion 1/09 of the Court of 8 March 2011 on the Creation of a unified patent litigation system  (ECLI:EU:C:2011:123)

• Judgment of 15 October 2009 in Case C-101/08, Audiolux and Others (ECLI:EU:C:2009:626)

• Judgment of 21 October 2004 in Case C-8/03, BBL (ECLI:EU:C:2004:650)

We have also convinced the EU Commission to drop proceedings against Member States or undertakings on several occasions.

Success before national courts

Most recent examples of cases before national courts in which we successfully represented or assisted our clients in relation to EU law issues include:

• We achieved the dismissal of an action brought against the EIB for the non-application of mandatory salary indexation rules in Luxembourg to its agents.

• We obtained the invalidation of a post-contractual non-compete clause in the real estate sector.

• We persuaded the court to uphold the legality of a decision of the Luxembourg Ministry of Communications and Media concerning a refusal to grant an authorisation under Directive (EU) 2018/1808 to a Russian media organisation (see Judgment of 10 November 2023 of the Lower Administrative Court of Luxembourg in case TV Novosti v Ministre des Communications et des Médias, LU:TADM:2023:46654).