On 20 March 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) published its judicial statistics for the year 2025. In total, 1,878 new cases were brought before the Court of Justice (ECJ) and the General Court, while 1,898 cases were completed (including a series of 404 essentially identical joined cases as one case). There are currently 2,489 cases pending before both Courts. These figures confirm a continued high level of judicial activity, with a further increase in completed cases and a continued reduction in the overall number of pending cases compared with previous years (for the 2024 statistics → eucrim news of 29 April 2025).

The key figures for the ECJ:

• In 2025, the ECJ received 889 new cases, slightly fewer than in 2024 (920). However, without the transfer of certain preliminary ruling competences to the General Court, the number would have reached 954 cases, close to record levels.
• The ECJ completed 774 cases, reflecting sustained judicial activity comparable to previous years (excluding the exceptional year of 2024).
• As of 31 December 2025, 1,322 cases were pending before the ECJ, an increase compared to 1,207 in 2024, due to an imbalance between incoming and resolved cases.
• Requests for preliminary rulings continued to originate from almost all Member States, with particularly high numbers from Italian courts (110 requests) and Polish courts (63 requests).
• The average duration of proceedings decreased from 17.7 months in 2024 to 16.7 months in 2025. This reduction applied across all categories:
  • Preliminary rulings: from 17.2 to 16.9 months;
  • Direct actions: from 21.5 to 20 months;
  • Appeals: from 18.4 to 15.1 months.

The key figures for the General Court:

• In 2025, the General Court experienced a record level of activity. A total of 989 new cases were brought before it, marking a 26% increase compared to 2024 and the highest number in its history.
• The General Court closed 1,124 cases (or 1,527 when counting all related cases individually), an increase of 22% compared with 2024, representing the highest number of completed cases in a single year in the history of the General Court.
• Despite the influx of new cases, the backlog was reduced to 1,167 pending cases, the lowest level in 18 years.
• The average duration of proceedings decreased significantly. While the raw average was 18.9 months, the adjusted average duration was 16 months (down from 18.5 months in 2024).

In terms of subject matter:

• Litigation concerning restrictive measures (notably related to Russia’s war against Ukraine) increased significantly, with 105 new cases.
• Civil service cases rose sharply (by 43%).
• Intellectual property cases decreased slightly.
• Cases relating to economic and monetary policy continued to decline.

Additionally, 2025 marked the first full year of the reform transferring certain preliminary ruling competences to the General Court. A total of 65 such cases were handled, mainly in areas such as VAT, transport passenger rights, customs law, and excise duties.

Overall, the statistics confirm that both courts continue to operate at a very high level of activity while improving efficiency, particularly through reduced procedural duration and structural reforms aimed at redistributing the workload between the ECJ and the General Court.