Microsoft EU judge removed

Microsoft's appeal against the EU ruling on anti-competitive behaviour will not be handled by the judge that has already found the software company guilty, but by 13 judges in the European Court of First Instance's Grand Chamber.

Judge Hubert Legal has been removed from the case after he wrote a controversial article calling some law clerks "ayatollahs of free enterprise" for the influence they exert over judges.

The appeal will now be headed by Bo Vesterdorf, president of the Court of First Instance.

A conclusion to the appeal had been expected next year, but the final verdict may now be pushed back to 2007.