Amicus Curiae: An overview of EU and national case law

Vallindas, Georges

Article précédent Article suivant The US FTC files an amicus brief in support of employees challenging a fast food company’s intra-franchise no-poach rules (McDonald’s / Deslandes and others)

15 Nov 2018

Amicus Curiae: An overview of EU and national case law

KEYWORDS

I. Definition and Raison d’être Amicus Curiae, an expression whose first known use is dated in the early 17th century [1], stands for “friend of the court”, that is to say, in general, someone who is not a party to the litigation, but who believes that the court’s decision may affect its interests or its mission. More generally, Amicus Curiae can be defined as an adviser to the court on some matter who wants to influence the outcome of a lawsuit involving matters of wide public interest or one who assists the court by furnishing informations or advices regarding questions of law or fact while not being a party in the proceedings. The Amicus may petition the court on his own initiative or maybe requested by the court to file a brief in action because of his knowledge related to the subject