Older europeans and the european court of justice

Background: the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is considered by many to be the most important judicial institution of the European Union today. Despite the potential importance and relevance of the ECJ rulings to the lives and rights of older Europeans, no research has attempted to analyse or to study the ECJ rulings in this field. Objective: to describe the ECJ case-law in the field of elder rights. Methods: using a computerised search of the ECJ database, between the years 1994 and 2010, 123 cases directly dealing with legal rights of older persons were analysed. Results: on average, only 1-2% of the annual ECJ case-load addresses rights of older persons. Unlike the clear trend in the increase of the total ECJ case load, there was no similar trend of increase in the number of cases directly involving older persons' rights. However, in the majority of the elder-rights cases, the ECJ decision was in support of the older person's rights. Conclusions: the ECJ can potentially serve as an important protector of rights of older Europeans, if and to the extent that these cases reach its jurisdiction.