The Ministry of Justice of Denmark (Justitsministeriet) has announced that the Ombudsman of Denmark, Niels Fenger, is to be the nominee of Denmark for appointment to the Court of Justice of the European Union as a judge, as per Article 253 TFEU.
His nomination by Denmark is conditional on two subject steps: his passing of the Article 255 TFEU panel, and appointment by the representatives of the governments of the Member States under Article 253 TFEU.
Niels Fenger is currently Ombudsman since 2019. Before that, he briefly served as a national judge at the Eastern High Court (Østre Landsret). Before that he was a Professor of Law at the University of Copenhagen. He also previously served as Directive of Legal and Executive Affairs at the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA).
Within the academic world, beyond Denmark, he is most well known for his extensive writings on EU law, particular on the reference for a preliminary ruling procedure in Article 267 TFEU. Both he and Morten Broberg have done stellar work here, including ‘Broberg and Fenger on Preliminary References to the European Court of Justice’ (3rd ed, 2021).
If appointed, Niels Fenger will take over the seat of the Court’s current Vice-President, Lars Bay Larsen, in October 2024, who is retiring after serving on the bench for 18 years.
The announcement of the nominationn of Niels Fenger to the CJEU by the Ministry of Justice of Denmark (Justitsministeriet) is available here.