The Court of Justice of the European Free Trade Association States (more commonly known as the EFTA Court) is a supranational judicial body responsible for the three EFTA members who are also members of the European Economic Area (EEA): Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
As members of the EEA, the three countries have access to the internal market of the European Union. Consequently they are subject to a number of European laws. Enforcement of these laws would normally be carried out by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), however there were legal difficulties in giving Union institutions powers over non-members so the EFTA Court was set up to perform this role instead of the ECJ.
Since September 1995, the Court has consisted of three judges and six ad-hoc judges. They are nominated by the three members and appointed by their Governments collectively through common accord.
Read more about EFTA Court: General Remarks, Organization, Jurisdiction, The Homogeneity Goal, Methods of Interpretation
Famous quotes containing the word court:
“If a walker is indeed an individualist there is nowhere he can’t go at dawn and not many places he can’t go at noon. But just as it demeans life to live alongside a great river you can no longer swim in or drink from, to be crowded into safer areas and hours takes much of the gloss off walking—one sport you shouldn’t have to reserve a time and a court for.”
—Edward Hoagland (b. 1932)