ORDER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION CIVIL SERVICE TRIBUNAL

(First Chamber)

25 November 2014

Case F‑82/11 DEP

Nicolaos Loukakis and Others

v

European Parliament

(Civil service — Procedure — Taxation of costs)

Application:      for taxation of costs brought, under Article 92(1) of the version of the Rules of Procedure then in force, by Mr Loukakis and 18 other applicants following the judgment in Loukakis and Others v Parliament (F‑82/11, EU:F:2013:139).

Held:      The total amount of costs to be reimbursed by the European Parliament to Mr Loukakis and the 18 other applicants whose names are set out in an annex in respect of recoverable costs in Case F‑82/11 is fixed at EUR 20 097.

Summary

1.      Judicial proceedings — Costs — Taxation — Recoverable costs — Definition — Expenses necessarily incurred by the parties — Necessity of lawyer’s services able to be inferred from acts carried out in the context of the proceedings before the Tribunal

(Rules of Procedure of the Civil Service Tribunal, Art. 91(b))

2.      Judicial proceedings — Costs — Taxation — Elements to be taken into consideration — Assistance by the same lawyer in the pre-litigation phase relevant for the dispute — Reduction of preparation time needed for the proceedings before the Tribunal — Scale of adviser’s work — Relationship to volume of written pleadings — None

(Rules of Procedure of the Civil Service Tribunal, Art. 91(b))

1.      Under Article 91(b) of the Rules of Procedure of the Civil Service Tribunal recoverable costs are limited, first, to those incurred for the purpose of the proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal and, second, to those which were necessary for that purpose.

In that regard, it may be inferred from the fact that a lawyer submitted an application, drew up a reply and observations and attended the hearing that that lawyer did indeed perform acts and services necessary for the purpose of the proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal.

(see paras 25, 26)

See:

order in Martinez Erades v EEAS, F‑64/12 DEP, EU:F:2013:111, para. 21

2.      The Union judicature is not bound by the invoice submitted by the party wishing to recover costs. It must take account only of the total number of hours’ work that may appear objectively necessary for the purposes of the proceedings.

However, where the applicant’s lawyer has already assisted him during proceedings or procedures prior to the relevant action, the Civil Service Tribunal must have regard to the fact that that lawyer is aware of matters relevant to the action, which is likely to have facilitated his work and reduced the preparation time required for the judicial proceedings.

Lastly, the amount of fees does not necessarily depend on the length of the written pleadings produced by a party’s adviser, which may not, as a general rule, be regarded as corresponding to a large quantity of work.

(see paras 32, 33, 38)

See:

order in IPK-München v Commission, T‑331/94 DEP, EU:T:2006:11, para. 59 and the case-law cited therein

orders in Suvikas v Council, F‑6/07 DEP, EU:F:2009:74, para. 26; Schönberger v Parliament, F‑7/08 DEP, EU:F:2010:32, para. 29; and Missir Mamachi di Lusignano v Commission, F‑50/09 DEP, EU:F:2012:147, para. 21