Austria Nominates First Woman Judge to the General Court of the European Union

PeopleOther ♦ Published: May 25, 2022; 18:33 ♦ Updated: May 27; 12:56 ♦ (Vindobona)

Austria needs to nominate persons to succeed the next term of office of the incumbent Austrian judges at the General Court of the European Union. Austria nominates the first woman judge to the General Court of the European Union, Mrs. Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger.

Mrs. Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger in Geneva, Switzerland. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons /Antoine Tardy, CC BY-SA 4.0

Austria nominated the first woman for a position as a judge to the General Court of the European Union. MMag.a Dr.in Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger will succeed the next term of office of the incumbent Austrian judges at the General Court of the European Union (EGC).

Together with the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the EGC is responsible for ensuring the correct interpretation and application of EU law.

The term of office of judges at the EGC lasts 6 years, and the nomination period is thus 2022-2028. Persons with extensive legal skills, many years of relevant professional experience and, among other things, knowledge of several official languages of the European Union may be appointed.

This morning in the main committee of the National Council the agreement on the suggestion of the Federal Government was made. As a further consequence, Tichy Fisslberger will still face the hearing before the responsible committee on the European Union level.

Of the candidates considered, the Federal Government agreed on the proposal of Ambassador MMag.a Dr.in Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations in Geneva.

Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution Karoline Edtstadler stressed, "I am pleased that with Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger we are nominating a woman as a judge at the EGC for the first time. She is an excellent jurist and her many years of expertise make her ideally suited for this office. At this point, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Viktor Kreuschitz for his work as a judge at the EGC."

Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger is an Austrian lawyer and diplomat. Mrs. Tichy-Fisslberger has been the Permanent Representative of her country to the United Nations Office in Geneva since December 2017 and was President of the UN Human Rights Council for 2020.

Mrs. Tichy-Fisslberger was present at Austria's EU accession negotiations and On December 6, 2019, the UN Human Rights Council elected Tichy-Fisslberger as its president for 2020, which Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg saw as recognition of Austria's international efforts in the human rights field.

Mrs. Tichy-Fisslberger is a member of the International Gender Champions network, which advocates for gender equity in international organizations as well.

Throughout her career, Mrs. Tichy-Fisslberger has served in various capacities.

Curriculum Vitae:
Date of Birth: 1957 in Vienna, Austria
Education:

1976-1980 (simultaneously)

Law studies at Vienna University / Language studies at Vienna University (French, Spanish)
1981
Louvain-la-Neuve University, Belgium (Scholarship for International law)
Career History:
1982-1988
European Commission
April 1988
Entry into the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for European and Economic Affairs
Jan.-July 1990
Austrian Embassy Dublin
July 1990 – March 1991
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Economic and European Policy Affairs
March 1991-July 1992
Deputy Director for EU Transport Policy
July 1992-Jan 1993
Austrian Embassy London
Jan 1993 - July 1993
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for European and Economic Affairs, Vienna
July 1993 –June 2000
Permanent Representation of Austria to the EU, Brussels
July 2000
Director for General EU Matters and EU institutions, Vienna
Dec. 2003
Deputy Director General for European and Economic Affairs, Vienna
2007-2017
Director General for Legal and Consular Affairs at the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs
since 2009
National Coordinator for the fight against Human Trafficking
2017-2019
Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations Office at Geneva
2019-2020
President of the United Nations Human Rights Council
Languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish
Family: Married, one daughter

Federal Chancellery of Austria

Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations to Geneva