In 2010 Prechal was appointed as a judge of the
European Court of Justice. In February 2018 her term in office was extended for another six years. In 2022 Prechal stated she was not interested in pursuing a third term and preferred to dedicate time to academic activity, leisure, and writing a third edition of her original thesis. She handled a case on the discrimination of women regarding social security in Spain. Prechal stated that her predecessors
Thijmen Koopmans and
Jos Kapteyn, whom she worked under between 1987 and 1991, were large influences, teaching her professional skills. ==Honours and awards==