Cypriot Judge Savvas Papasavvas elected President of the General Court of the EU

Cypriot Judge Savvas Papasavvas has been elected President of the General Court of the European Union. The decision was taken by his fellow judges on 16 September, and his term will run until 31 August 2028.

Papasavvas succeeds Dutch Judge Marc van der Woude, who left the position before the end of his term. The Cypriot judge will serve out the remainder of the presidential term.

The General Court is the court of first instance of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. It hears actions brought by companies, individuals and EU Member States against the Union’s institutions and bodies, including disputes concerning competition, state aid, trademarks, sanctions and decisions by European regulators. Its decisions may be appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Papasavvas was born in Nicosia in 1969. He obtained his law degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 1991, and then continued his studies in France: he received a degree in public law from Paris II University in 1992 and a doctorate from the University of Aix-Marseille III in 1995.

Papasavvas joined the Cyprus Bar Association in 1993 and taught constitutional law at the University of Cyprus from 1997 to 2004. He became a judge of the General Court of the EU on 12 May 2004, chaired one of the Court’s chambers from 2010 to 2016, and was first elected Vice-President on 27 September 2019, holding that position until his current election.