Koen Lenaerts, Baron Lenaerts (; born 20 December 1954) is a Belgian jurist and the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union. He is also a Professor of European Law at the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its main camp ...

and was a member of the Coudenberg group, a Belgian federalist

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

Education

Lenaerts obtained a candidate in law (summa cum laude) in 1974 at the Université de Namur. In 1977, he graduated with a licentiate in law at the

(summa cum laude). He then went on to earn a Master of Laws (LLM) degree at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1978, with a Belgian Fulbright scholarship, and a Master in Public Administration (MPA) from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1979. In 1982, he obtained a PhD in law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

Career

Since 1983, Lenaerts has been Professor of European Law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, since 1990 with the title of ''buitengewoon hoogleraar''. He is the director of the Institute of European Law at the university. From 1984 until 1989, he was a Professor at the

College of Europe The College of Europe (; ; ) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with three campuses in Bruges, Belgium; Warsaw, Poland; and Tirana, Albania. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 as a result of the 1948 Congress of ...

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

. From 1984 until 1985, he was a Law clerk to Judge René Joliet at the Court of Justice of the European Communities. From 1986 until 1989, he was a Member of the Brussels Bar acting as an attorney in the European Court of Justice, on behalf of the Belgian state. He was made an Honorary Master of the Bench of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, London, in 2010. From 1989 until 6 October 2003, Lenearts served as Judge of the European Court of First Instance (now known as the General Court). Since 7 October 2003, Lenaerts has been a Judge at the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

, where he became Vice President in 2012. In October 2015 he became President of the Court of Justice of the European Union and was reelected in this position both in 2018 and 2021.Simon Van Dorpe (13 December 2021)
EU court president warns European project is in danger
''

Politico Europe ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the American news organization '' Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices in ...

''. As president, Lenaerts allocates incoming cases to judges and presides over the grand chamber of 15 judges that deals with the most important cases. He is also the public face of the institution.

Other activities

Academy of European Law The Academy of European Law ( German: ''Europäische Rechtsakademie'', ERA) is an international centre for training and debate for lawyers. A public foundation based in Trier, Germany, its objective is to promote the awareness, understanding and ...

(ERA), Ex-Officio Member of the Governing Board * Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Member of the Board of Trustees * Centre for Governance and Law in Europe at the UCL Faculty of Laws, Member of the Advisory Board * ''Columbia Journal of European Law'', Member of the Board of Advisors * ''European Constitutional Law Review'', Member of the Board of AdvisorsBoard of Advisors
''European Constitutional Law Review''.

Recognition

In 2004 Lenaerts was ennobled a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

by King Albert II, King of the Belgians.

Bibliography

* Koen Lenaerts (Author), Piet Van Nuffel (Ed.), ''Constitutional Law of the European Union'', Thomson

References

External links

Koen Lenaerts
at the Faculty of Law,

KU Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its mai ...

Remarks of Judge Koen Lenaerts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenaerts, Koen 1954 births 20th-century Belgian judges Academic staff of the College of Europe Harkness Fellows Harvard Law School alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni KU Leuven alumni Academic staff of KU Leuven Living people People from Mortsel Université de Namur alumni Vice-presidents of the European Court of Justice Presidents of the European Court of Justice Belgian judges of international courts and tribunals 21st-century Belgian judges