ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
15 December 2008 (*)
(Legal aid)
In Case T‑290/08 AJ,
Svetoslav Apostolov, residing in Saarwellingen (Germany),
applicant,
v
European Ombudsman,
defendant,
APPLICATION for legal aid under Article 95 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
makes the following
Order
Having regard to Article 94(3) of the Rules of Procedure,
having regard to Article 96(1) of the Rules of Procedure,
having regard to the application for legal aid lodged at the Registry of the Court of First Instance on 15 July 2008,
having regard to the action in respect of which legal aid is sought, as described in the legal aid application form,
having regard, in particular, to the fact that Mr S. Apostolov proposes to bring an action for annulment of the Ombudsman’s decisions of 13 March and 16 May 2008 not to open an inquiry further to his complaint, registered under number 338/2008/DK, concerning an application to the Commission for reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses for outside persons invited to a meeting,
having regard to the fact that, pursuant to Article 195 EC, to Decision 94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom of 9 March 1994 on the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman’s duties (OJ 1994 L 113, p. 15), and to the provisions implementing the latter, the Ombudsman’s duty is limited to informing the complainant as soon as possible of the action taken on his complaint, and that, where the Ombudsman finds a case of maladministration, he simply informs the complainant of the outcome of the inquiries, of the opinion expressed by the institution concerned and of any recommendations made by him (see the second subparagraph of Article 195(1) EC, and Articles 2(9) and 3(7) of Decision 94/262),
having regard, moreover, to the fact that, in accordance with the case-law, the Ombudsman does not have the power to take binding measures and that the report which he sends to the Parliament where he finds a case of maladministration does no more than find that there is maladministration in the activities of an institution and, where appropriate, make recommendations (see order of the Court of 3 November 2008 in Case T‑196/08 Srinivasan v Ombudsman, not published in the ECR, paragraph 11 and the case-law cited),
having regard to the fact that, by definition, therefore, the Ombudsman’s report does not produce legal effects vis-à-vis third parties within the meaning of Article 230 EC, and is furthermore not binding on the Parliament, which is free to decide, within the framework of the powers conferred on it by the Treaty, what steps are to be taken in relation to it (see order in Srinivasan v Ombudsman, paragraph 11 and the case-law cited),
having regard to the fact that, in the present case, the Ombudsman’s reasoned decisions not to open an inquiry in respect of Mr S. Apostolov’s complaint are not measures which may be challenged by an action for their annulment, inasmuch as those decisions do not produce legal effects vis-à-vis the applicant within the meaning of Article 230 EC,
having regard to the fact, moreover, that the Ombudsman is not a Community institution for the purpose of Article 7 EC, and is not among the institutions or bodies whose acts are referred to in the first paragraph of Article 230 EC,
having regard, in addition, to the fact that, in so far as Mr S. Apostolov’s action seeks a declaration that the Ombudsman unlawfully failed to act, it is clear from the case-law that the Ombudsman is not a Community institution within the meaning of Article 232 EC (see order of the Court of 5 September 2006 in Case T‑144/06 O’Loughlin v Ombudsman and Ireland, not published in the ECR, paragraph 15 and the case-law cited),
having regard, therefore, to the fact that the action in respect of which Mr S. Apostolov seeks legal aid appears to be manifestly inadmissible,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
hereby orders:
The application for legal aid in Case T‑290/08 AJ is dismissed.
Luxembourg, 15 December 2008.