Judge candidate Brkan confident she could win MPs, pass Committee 255 hearing

Ljubljana – EU law expert Maja Brkan is confident she can pass Committee 225’s vetting to become a new Slovenian judge on the General Court of the European Union, if her candidacy is endorsed by Slovenian parliament. She believes, based on her expertise and experience, she could become one of Slovenia’s two judges on this court.

Pahor announced last Thursday, following consultations with deputy groups, that he would nominate Brkan, who presented her bid at the Presidential Palace today.

Brkan holds a PhD in law and is an associate professor of EU law at Maastricht University’s Faculty of Law, for which she has worked since 2013.

The candidate said she had been studying EU law for more than 15 years, as a professor and practically.

She has already worked for the European Court of Justice, four years in the office of Slovenian ex-Advocate General Verica Trstenjak and two years in the office of incumbent Slovenian judge Marko Ilešič.

She believes she is well familiar with the court as well as the main matter it deals with, EU competition law. She teaches EU competition law in Maastricht and has published a number of papers on the matter.

Brkan hopes to pass the test before Committee 255 in Brussels, the last clearance a candidacy needs before assuming an EU judicial post, after two Slovenians failed it.

She takes the Brussels committee seriously: “This is of course a major responsibility, especially given the previous Slovenian experience with the committee.”

Following today’s public presentation of the candidate, Pahor is expected to formally nominate Brkan and send the proposal to parliament.

In a secret ballot, the nominee needs at least 46 votes in the 90-seat National Assembly to get appointed.

Nataša Kovač, secretary general at Pahor’s office, said this should not be a problem since Brkan had received support by “a large majority of parliamentary parties” during the consultations.

At the moment, Slovenia, which is entitled to two spots on the General Court, which is part of the European Court of Justice, does not have its judges; the term of of the last one, Miro Prek, ended in September 2019.

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