There are eight Advocates-General at to the Court of Justice. Advocates-General have the same qualifications as the Judges in the Court of Justice, and their task is to present in open court impartial and independent reasoned opinions in the actual cases which are brought before the Court of Justice. 

The Advocate-General’s opinion takes a position on the case as it is presented to the Court of Justice and the opinion is structured in the same way as a judgment. However, there is a very important difference, which is that the Advocate-General’s opinion is not binding in any way, either in relation to the parties in the case or on the Judges of the Court of Justice when they subsequently issue their judgment. It is therefore possible for there to be a difference between the content of an Advocate-General’s opinion and the subsequent judgment.

The system of advocates-general who deliver reasoned opinions is taken from the French legal system