Abstract

The gradual increase in the number of EU bodies that are conferred with a legal personality which is different from the legal personality of the EU itself (multiplication of the legal personality of EU’s bodies), has been a phenomenon noticeable within the functioning of this international organization for a long time. As a result, a number of EU bodies with legal personality have been created, which occupy a different position in its
organizational structure and whose legal bases are defined in EU law of different ranks. The article attempts to present a catalog of those bodies, as well as to determine the nature of their legal personality (the author takes into account three possibilities, i.e. the personality of international law, EU law and national law). The author also draws attention to the effects that result for the functioning of the EU from the multiplication of the legal personality of its bodies. One of the consequences is that each legal person must have its own internal organs, which act on its behalf and exercise its legal capacity. Within the sphere of EU law, the existence of internal bodies of its legal persons was taken into account primarily in the context of their capacity to become a party in the proceedings before the Court of Justice of the EU. This may be seen for example with respect to the internal bodies of the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank. The effects of the existence of EU bodies with legal personality may also be seen in the context of EU law provisions that relate to the implementation of the EU budget.