2007-09-18

(AP) - BRUSSELS, Belgium-Judges at the European Union's Court of First Instance elected Marc Jaeger from Luxembourg as the court's new president, the court said Tuesday.

He succeeds Bo Vesterdorf, from Denmark, who retired Monday after awarding EU antitrust regulators a stunning victory against Microsoft Corp., backing the European Commission in finding one of the world's most powerful companies guilty of monopoly abuse.
Jaeger, born in 1954, has been a judge at the court since July 1996.

The court, the EU's second-highest, usually hears appeals from companies challenging European Commission cartel and monopoly fines, takeover bans, antidumping trade sanctions, trademark decisions and state subsidy rulings. It also decides on legal action taken by EU civil servants against European Union employers.

It has acted to check the Commission's power in antitrust cases, often demanding a strict standard of proof that has forced regulators to overhaul the way they work since suffering a series of court defeats on merger cases in recent years.
Its decisions can be appealed to the EU's supreme court, the European Court of Justice.

Jaeger will serve a three-year term as court president that expires on August 31, 2010.

The Court of First Instance has 27 judges, one from each EU nation. Judges are appointed by EU governments for a renewable term of six years.