Contribution by Pierre Pescatore, former Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, to a joint publication produced by the European Commission in 2002 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). In his text, Mr Pescatore explains, by means of a historical review of the founding Treaties, the principles and concepts which determined the structure of the ECSC and which subsequently provided the foundations of that of the European Economic Community (EEC).

Following the entry into force of the Treaty of Nice, this Decision is repealed with the exception of Article 3 insofar as the Court of First Instance exercises, pursuant to the said Article, the jurisdiction conferred on the Court of Justice by the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community.

In an address given on 4 December 2002, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the President of the Court of Justice, Gil Carlos Rodríguez Iglesias, looks back over the history of the institution, emphasising its greatest contribution: that of defining the main features of the Community legal system.

On 10 August 1952, Jean Monnet delivers the opening address at the first session of the High Authority of the ECSC and outlines the operation and supranational aspect of the institutions of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).

In the course of an interview with the CVCE in November 2003, Pierre Pescatore, Judge in the Court of Justice of the European Communities from 1967 to 1985, recalls the circumstances of his appointment.

On 10 August 1952, Jean Monnet inaugurates the first session of the ECSC High Authority, which he chairs, with an address in which he emphasises how important it is for the work of the Members of the High Authority to be seen to be independent of national influence.