Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 30 June 2016 —
Al Matri v Council
(Case T‑545/13)
Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia — Measures taken against persons responsible for misappropriation of public funds and associated persons and entities — Freezing of funds — List of persons, entities and bodies subject to the freezing of funds and economic resources — Inclusion of the applicant’s name — Inadequate factual basis — Error of fact — Error of law — Right to property — Freedom to conduct a business — Proportionality — Rights of defence — Right to effective judicial protection — Obligation to state reasons
1. Judicial proceedings — Decision or regulation replacing the contested measure in the course of proceedings — New factor — Extension of the initial pleadings — Condition — Interest in bringing proceedings — Amendment of a regulation concerning restrictive measures against certain persons and entities having regard to the situation in Tunisia — Applicant not concerned by the said amendment — Not permissible (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 84; Council Decisions 2011/72/CFSP, 2013/409/CFSP, 2014/49/CFSP and 2015/157/CFSP; Council Regulations No 101/2011, No 735/2013 and No 81/2014) (see paras 37, 43, 44)
2. European Union — Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions — Restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia — Freezing of funds of persons involved in the misappropriation of public funds and of natural or legal persons, bodies or organisations associated with them — Ambit of the review — Restricted review for general rules — Review extending to the assessment of facts and verification of evidence for measures applying to specific entities (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decisions 2011/72/CFSP, 2013/409/CFSP, 2014/49/CFSP and 2015/157/CFSP; Council Regulations No 101/2011, No 735/2013 and No 81/2014) (see paras 48-51)
3. European Union — Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions — Restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia — Freezing of funds of persons involved in the misappropriation of public funds and of natural or legal persons, bodies or organisations associated with them — Ambit of the review — Proof the measure well-founded — No obligation on the Council systematically to verify evidence provided by the authorities of a non-Member State (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 41 and 47; Council Decisions 2011/72/CFSP, 2013/409/CFSP, 2014/49/CFSP and 2015/157/CFSP; Council Regulations No 101/2011, No 735/2013 and No 81/2014) (see paras 57-59, 65-67, 76)
4. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia — Freezing of funds of persons involved in the misappropriation of public funds and of natural or legal persons, bodies or organisations associated with them — Nature of those measures — Purely protective measures — No penal character (Arts 21 and 29 TEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decisions 2011/72/CFSP, Art. 1(1), and first and second recitals) (see paras 62, 64)
5. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia — Freezing of funds of persons involved in the misappropriation of public funds and of natural or legal persons, bodies or organisations associated with them — Person responsible for the misappropriation of public funds — Definition — Broad and autonomous interpretation — Obligation to ensure effectiveness (Council Decisions 2011/72/CFSP, Art. 1(1), 2013/409/CFSP, 2014/49/CFSP and 2015/157/CFSP) (see paras 81-86)
6. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia — Freezing of funds of persons involved in the misappropriation of public funds and of natural or legal persons, bodies or organisations associated with them — Misappropriation of public funds — Definition — Independent and uniform interpretation — Broad interpretation (Council Decisions 2011/72/CFSP, Art. 1(1), 2013/409/CFSP, 2014/49/CFSP and 2015/157/CFSP) (see paras 93-99)
7. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia — Freezing of funds of persons involved in the misappropriation of public funds and of natural or legal persons, bodies or organisations associated with them — Rights of defence — Notification of inculpatory evidence — Subsequent decision maintaining the name of a person on the list of persons concerned by those measures — No infringement of the right to be heard (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 41 and 47; Council Decisions 2011/72/CFSP, 2013/409/CFSP, 2014/49/CFSP and 2015/157/CFSP; Council Regulations No 101/2011, No 735/2013 and No 81/2014) (see paras 127-130, 132, 135)
8. Actions for annulment — Grounds — Lack of or inadequate statement of reasons — Separate ground from the one concerning substantive legality (Arts 263 TFEU and 296 TFEU) (see paras 134, 143, 147)
9. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia — Freezing of funds of persons involved in the misappropriation of public funds and of natural or legal persons, bodies or organisations associated with them — Decision falling within a context known to the person concerned, enabling him to understand the scope of the measure taken against him — Whether a summary statement of reasons is sufficient — Limits — Statement of reasons not capable of consisting of a general and stereotyped formulation (Art. 296 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41; Council Decisions 2011/72/CFSP, 2013/409/CFSP, 2014/49/CFSP and 2015/157/CFSP; Council Regulations No 101/2011, No 735/2013 and No 81/2014) (see paras 144-146, 148, 149)
10. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia — Freezing of funds of persons involved in the misappropriation of public funds and of natural or legal persons, bodies or organisations associated with them — Restriction of the right to property and the free exercise of an economic activity — No breach of principle of proportionality (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 16 and 17(1); Council Decisions 2011/72/CFSP, 2013/409/CFSP, 2014/49/CFSP and 2015/157/CFSP; Council Regulations No 101/2011, No 735/2013 and No 81/2014) (see paras 154-156, 160, 161, 163, 167, 168)
Re:
| APPLICATION for annulment, first, of Council Decision 2011/72/CFSP of 31 January 2011 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia (OJ 2011 L 28, p. 62), implemented by Council Implementing Decision 2013/409/CFSP of 30 July 2013 (OJ 2013 L 204, p. 52), by Council Decision 2014/49/CFSP of 30 January 2014 (OJ 2014 L 28, p. 38) and by Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/157 of 30 January 2015 (OJ 2015 L 26, p. 29), and, secondly, of Council Regulation (EU) No 101/2011 of 4 February 2011 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Tunisia (OJ 2011 L 31, p. 1), implemented by Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 735/2013 of 30 July 2013 (OJ 2013 L 204, p. 23), by Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 81/2014 of 30 January 2014 (OJ 2014 L 28, p. 2) and by Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 147/2015 of 30 January 2015 (OJ 2015 L 26, p. 3), in so far as those acts apply to the applicant. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders Mr Fahed Mohamed Sakher Al Matri to bear his own costs and to pay those incurred by the Council of the European Union. |