Case T-411/09

Ioannis Terezakis

v

European Commission

(Access to documents – Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 – Partial refusal of access – Contested act replaced in the course of the proceedings – Refusal to amend the claims – No need to adjudicate)

Summary of the Order

Actions for annulment – Interest in bringing proceedings – Decision replacing the contested decision during the proceedings – Refusal on the part of the applicant to amend his claims as a result – Application devoid of purpose – No need to adjudicate

(Art. 230 EC)

If, in an action for annulment, the subject-matter of the action disappears in the course of the proceedings, the Court cannot rule on the substance, since such a Court decision cannot procure an advantage for the applicant. The disappearance of the subject-matter of the proceedings can inter alia result from the withdrawal or replacement of the contested act in the course of the proceedings.

While the legal effect of a repealed act expires, unless otherwise specified, on the date of its repeal, an act which is withdrawn and replaced disappears completely from the legal order of the European Union. Withdrawal of an act therefore normally takes effect ex tunc.

An application for annulment may, exceptionally, not become devoid of purpose despite the withdrawal of the act whose annulment is sought in circumstances where the applicant nevertheless retains a sufficient interest in obtaining a judgment formally annulling it. That is not the case where, despite the adoption by the Commission of a new decision replacing the contested decision in the course of the proceedings, the applicant explicitly states that he does not wish to adapt his claims as he is entitled to do and does not adduce any evidence to substantiate an interest in obtaining a judgment declaring the formal unlawfulness of the contested decision.

(see paras 14-18, 20)