Trip to European Court of Justice inspires students

On 29 March, a group of first year students travelled to Luxembourg to visit the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The students, who had entered a lottery for their place due to the popular appeal of the trip, enjoyed a unique experience at the ECJ, where they were able to sit in on a hearing and meet some of people that work there.

In morning, students were given an initial briefing about the ECJ and a specific, detailed briefing about the case they were going to hear, concerning the labelling of organic fish imported from Vietnam. 

After the hearing, students met with Judge Christopher Vajda, an UK judge at the general court who talked about the court structure and operation. Students then had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss with Judge Vajda about the workings of the court. 

Speaking about the visit Ciubotaru Stefan, a student on the trip said: 'Visiting the Court of Justice was definitely a unique experience for me, I had the opportunity to understand and see the workings of the ECJ in real life, which stimulated even more my interest towards EU law. Meeting with everyone from the School and getting to know new people was lovely. We had the opportunity to chat and share our ideas and experiences, which made the trip that much more interesting. Overall, an amazing experience, one that we are most thankful for and one which has definitely left a mark on our future as European lawyers, especially in these uncertain times.'

The trip was organised by the School's Centre for European Law, which is renowned for being at the forefront of EU law scholarship for both undergraduate and postgraduate study.