Judgment of the General Court of 22 January 2015 — Ocean Capital Administration and Others v Council
(Joined Cases T-420/11 and T-56/12) 1
(Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against Iran with the aim of preventing nuclear proliferation — Freezing of funds — Res judicata — Consequence of an annulment of restrictive measures for the entity owned or controlled by an entity identified as being involved in nuclear proliferation — Temporal effects of an annulment)
Language of the case: English
Parties
Applicants: Ocean Capital Administration GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) and other applicants whose names appear in the annex to the judgment (Case T-420/11); IRISL Maritime Training Institute (Tehran, Iran); Kheibar Co. (Tehran); Kish Shipping Line Manning Co. (Kish Island, Iran); IRISL Multimodal Transport Co. (Tehran) (Case T-56/12) (represented by: F. Randolph, QC, M. Taher, Solicitor, and M. Lester, Barrister)
Defendant: Council of the European Union (represented by: M. Bishop and, in Case T-420/11, by P. Plaza García and, in Case T-56/12, by M.-M. Joséphidès, acting as Agents)
Re:
Applications, in Case T 420/11, for the annulment of Council Decision 2011/299/CFSP of 23 May 2011 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2011 L 136, p. 65), of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 503/2011 of 23 May 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010 on restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2011 L 136, p. 26) and of Council Regulation (EU) No 267/2012 of 23 March 2012 concerning restrictive measures against Iran and repealing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010 (OJ 2012 L 88, p. 1) in so far as those measures concern the applicants, and, in Case T 56/12, for the annulment of Council Decision 2011/783/CFSP of 1 December 2011 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2011 L 319, p. 71), of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1245/2011 of 1 December 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010 on restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2011 L 319, p. 11) and of Regulation No 267/2012 in so far as those measures concern the applicants.
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Annuls, in so far as they concern Ocean Capital Administration GmbH and the other applicants whose names appear in the annex to this judgment:
Council Decision 2011/299/CFSP of 23 May 2011 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran;
Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 503/2011 of 23 May 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010 on restrictive measures against Iran;
Council Regulation (EU) No 267/2012 of 23 March 2012 concerning restrictive measures against Iran and repealing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010;
Annuls, in so far as they concern IRISL Maritime Training Institute, Kheibar Co., Kish Shipping Line Manning Co. and IRISL Multimodal Transport Co.:
Council Decision 2011/783/CFSP of 1 December 2011 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran;
Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1245/2011 of 1 December 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010 on restrictive measures against Iran;
Regulation No 267/2012;
Declares that the effects of Council Decision 2010/413/CFSP of 26 July 2010 concerning restrictive measures against Iran and repealing Common Position 2007/140/CFSP, as amended by Decision 2011/299 and Decision 2011/783, are maintained as regards, on the one hand, Ocean Capital Administration and the other applicants whose names appear in the annex to this judgment and, on the other hand, IRISL Maritime Training Institute, Kheibar, Kish Shipping Line Manning and IRISL Multimodal Transport, until the annulment of Regulation No 267/2012 takes effect;
Orders the Council of the European Union to bear, in addition to its own costs, the costs incurred by Ocean Capital Administration and the 35 other applicants whose names appear in the annex to this judgment and by IRISL Maritime Training Institute, Kheibar, Kish Shipping Line Manning and IRISL Multimodal Transport.
________________________1 OJ C 290, 1.10.2011.