ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE THIRD CHAMBER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION CIVIL SERVICE TRIBUNAL
29 May 2013 (*)
(Stay of proceedings)
In Case F‑71/12,
ACTION brought under Article 36.2 of the Protocol on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank annexed to the EU Treaty and the FEU Treaty,
BZ, member of staff at the European Central Bank, residing in Frankfurt am Main (Germany), represented by N. Lhoëst, lawyer,
applicant,
v
European Central Bank (ECB), represented by E. Carlini and F. Feyerbacher, acting as Agents, assisted by B. Wägenbaur, lawyer,
defendant,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE THIRD CHAMBER OF THE CIVIL SERVICE TRIBUNAL
makes the following
Order
1 By application received at the Tribunal Registry on 5 July 2012, BZ seeks the annulment of the decision of 25 April 2012 by which the European Central Bank (ECB) rejected her application seeking the annulment of the procedure for recognition of the occupational origin of her disease and the initiation of a new procedure, and an order that the ECB pay her damages on several grounds.
2 In accordance with Article 71(1)(d) of the Rules of Procedure of the Tribunal, proceedings may be stayed where the proper administration of justice so requires. In addition, pursuant to Article 71(2) of those rules, the decision to stay the proceedings is to be made by reasoned order of the President after hearing the parties.
3 In the present case, the parties were requested by letters of 11 April 2013 to submit their observations on a possible stay of proceedings on account of the appeal pending before the General Court of the European Union as Case T‑114/13 P, brought by BZ against the judgment of the Tribunal of 12 December 2012 in Case F‑43/10 [BZ] v ECB, by which the Tribunal dismissed her action for annulment of the ECB’s decision rejecting, essentially, her complaint relating to discrimination and harassment.
4 By letter of 23 April 2013, the ECB indicated that it raised no objection to the proposed stay of proceedings. However, by letter of 25 April 2013, BZ objected to a possible stay of proceedings on the grounds that the present case and the case under appeal do not have the same subject-matter and that, in the event that the present action should be successful, any delay would render difficult any investigation into her working conditions in 2006 and 2007 which the ECB might be required to carry out.
5 It must, however, be stated that the application contains several references to the harassment suffered by BZ and statements relating to discrimination, bias and prejudice to her dignity or her reputation already put forward in Case F‑43/10 and on which the Tribunal ruled in its judgment under appeal.
6 Consequently, it is appropriate to stay the proceedings in the present case in accordance with Article 71(1)(d) of the Rules of Procedure of the Tribunal, pending the delivery of the decision of the General Court of the European Union concluding the proceedings in Case T‑114/13 P.
On those grounds,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE THIRD CHAMBER OF THE CIVIL SERVICE TRIBUNAL
hereby orders:
1. The proceedings in Case F‑71/12 BZ v ECB are stayed pending the delivery of the decision of the General Court of the European Union concluding the proceedings in Case T‑114/13 P [BZ] v ECB;
2. Costs are reserved.
Luxembourg, 29 May 2013.
W. Hakenberg | | S. Van Raepenbusch |
The texts of the present decision and the texts of the decisions of the Courts of the European Union cited in it are available on the internet site www.curia.europa.eu.