For the first time in the history of the European Union’s Court of Justice (ECJ), which deals with cases concerning competition and antitrust, one of its judges will be a former head of the EU’s competition department, raising the spectre of conflicts of interest in the powerful EU court.

Johannes Laitenberger, a highly respected German lawyer who has led the competition department since 2015, is expected to join the EU’s General Court as a judge in September, provided he is nominated by the German Government and approved by the other 27 members of the EU.