Di Bucci appointed Registrar of the Court of Justice for six years

Vittorio Di Bucci has been appointed Registrar of the Court of Justice of the European Union for a six-year term running from 8 October 2026 to 7 October 2032, succeeding Alfredo Calot Escobar. The appointment was decided by the Court at its special general meeting of 8 September 2026, in accordance with Article 18 of the Rules of Procedure, and was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, C series, of 8 October 2026 (C/2026/5092).

The notice, headed “Appointment of the Registrar”, records that Alfredo Calot Escobar asked for his term of office as Registrar of the Court of Justice of the European Union to be ended by letter of 12 May 2026. The Court then moved to fill the post at a special general meeting held on 8 September 2026, appointing Vittorio Di Bucci for the period from 8 October 2026 to 7 October 2032.

The Registrar is the senior official to whom the European Parliament grants discharge for the implementation of the Court’s budget: Decision (EU) 2026/1582 of 29 April 2026, published in the Official Journal L series of 10 September 2026, granted the Registrar discharge in respect of the budget of the Court of Justice of the European Union for the financial year 2024. The office therefore sits at the intersection of judicial administration and financial accountability.

The officials involved

• Vittorio Di Bucci, appointed Registrar for the period 8 October 2026 to 7 October 2032.
• Alfredo Calot Escobar, outgoing Registrar, whose term ends at his own request.
• The Court of Justice of the European Union, which made the appointment at a special general meeting.

Key dates of the handover

• 12 May 2026: Alfredo Calot Escobar requests that his term as Registrar be ended.
• 8 September 2026: the Court appoints Vittorio Di Bucci as Registrar at a special general meeting.
• 7 October 2026: Di Bucci takes the oath provided for in Article 10 of the Statute of the Court of Justice at the formal sitting.
• 8 October 2026: the six-year mandate begins and runs to 7 October 2032.
• 8 October 2026: the appointment notice is published in the Official Journal, C series (C/2026/5092).

Legal basis and publication

The appointment was made “in accordance with Article 18 of the Rules of Procedure” of the Court, the provision governing the appointment of the Registrar. The oath sworn by the incoming Registrar is the one “provided for in Article 10 of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union”, taken at the formal sitting held on 7 October 2026 — the day before his mandate formally began.

The notice carries the ELI identifier http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/5092/oj and appears in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union under reference C/2026/5092.

A full handover, not an interim arrangement

The change of Registrar is a complete handover of the office: the outgoing Registrar’s term ends at his own request, and the incoming Registrar has been appointed for a fixed six-year period rather than as an acting holder. The mandate of Vittorio Di Bucci will run until 7 October 2032, well beyond the current judicial year of the Court.

For readers following EU judicial administration, the notice fixes the leadership of the Court’s Registry for the next six years and confirms a pre-announced, orderly transition: the outgoing Registrar signalled his departure in May 2026, the Court appointed his successor in September, and the oath was sworn in early October, one day before the new mandate began.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, C series, C/2026/5092, 8 October 2026 (official reference: C/2026/5092).