The post of vice-president was created by amendments to the Statute of the Court of Justice in 2012.

In accordance with article 20 of the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the E.E.C.

The rules governing the languages of the institutions of the Community shall, without prejudice to the provisions contained in the Statute of the Court of Justice, be determined by the Council, acting unanimously (Article 290).

This draft Council decision seeks, further to the enlargement process, to amend Articles 16 and 17 of the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice with regard to increasing the number of judges in what are known as the Grand Chamber and the full Court.