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.

The General Court, the lower of the ECJ's two courts, deals with competition cases as well as other commercial issues such as intellectual property. The General Court's judgments can be appealed in the higher court, the Court of Justice.