JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Fourth Chamber)

8 February 2007

Case T-318/04

Vladimir Boucek

v

Commission of the European Communities

(Officials – Open competition – Non‑admission to the written tests – Late submission of application)

Application: for annulment of the decision of the selection board in open competition EPSO/A/2/03 refusing the applicant admittance to the written test of the competition on the ground that he had not submitted his complete application within the time-limit prescribed.

Held: The action is dismissed. The parties are ordered to bear their own costs.

Summary

1.      Officials – Competitions – Organisation – Conditions for admission and arrangements

(Staff Regulations, Annex III, Arts 2 and 5)

2.      Officials – Competitions – Notice of competition

(Staff Regulations, Annex III, Arts 1(1)(h) and 2)

1.      The failure to notify candidates in a competition, by email, of the results of their preselection tests and of a request to complete their application does not constitute an irregularity which infringes the principle of sound administration where the persons concerned have been adequately informed both regarding the fact that the results and the request would be communicated to them through their personal file on the website of the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), which they were required to consult regularly, and regarding the period within which that communication would be made.

In that context, a period of three weeks granted to candidates to enable them to take note of the information in question on the EPSO website and to complete and send their application cannot be regarded as inadequate.

(see paras 42, 46)

2.      Article 1(1)(h) of Annex III to the Staff Regulations, which states that the notice of competition must specify the closing date for applications, does not require that notice to lay down time-limits for the submission of applications and of supporting documents completing applications in the case of competitions in which those documents are to be sent and the conditions for admission checked only after the preselection phase. Those documents are solely intended to complete the application submitted at the time when it is registered.

(see paras 59-61)

See: T‑207/02 Falcone v Commission [2004] ECR-SC I‑A‑305 and II‑1393, para. 41