Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 27 February 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Supremo Tribunal Administrativo — Portugal) — Associação Sindical dos Juízes Portugueses v Tribunal de Contas

(Case C-64/16) ¹

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Article 19(1) TEU — Legal remedies — Effective judicial protection — Judicial independence — Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — Article 47 — Reduction of remuneration in the national public administration — Budgetary austerity measures)

Language of the case: Portuguese

Referring court

Supremo Tribunal Administrativo

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Associação Sindical dos Juízes Portugueses

Defendant: Tribunal de Contas

Operative part of the judgment

The second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU must be interpreted as meaning that the principle of judicial independence does not preclude general salary-reduction measures, such as those at issue in the main proceedings, linked to requirements to eliminate an excessive budget deficit and to an EU financial assistance programme, from being applied to the members of the Tribunal de Contas (Court of Auditors, Portugal).

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¹ OJ C 156, 2.5.2016.