ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE SEVENTH CHAMBER OF THE GENERAL COURT
27 February 2014 (1)
(Removal from the register)
In Case T-439/13,
Mohammad Moghaddami Fard, residing in Tehran (Iran),
Ahmad Sarkandi, residing in Al Jaddaf, Dubai (United Arab Emirates), represented by M. Lester, M. Taher and S. Kentridge, lawyers,
applicants,
v
Council of the European Union, represented by A. De Elera, M.-M. Joséphidès and A. Varnav, acting as Agents,
defendant,
ACTION for annulment of Council Decision 2013/270/CFSP of 6 June 2013 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2013 L 156, p. 10), and annulment of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 522/2013 of 6 June 2013 implementing Regulation (EU) No 267/2012 concerning restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2013 L 156, p. 3), in so far as the names of the applicants have been included on the list of persons and entities to which those restrictive measures apply.
1 By letter lodged at the Registry of the General Court on 6 January 2014, the applicants, in response to a question put by the General Court, informed the Court in accordance with Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure that they wished to discontinue proceedings and requested, pursuant to Article 87(5) of the Rules of Procedure, that the defendant be ordered to pay the costs.
2 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 17 January 2014, the defendant informed the Court that it has no objections to discontinue proceedings. The defendant requested that the applicants should be ordered to bear the costs of the proceedings.
3 The first subparagraph of Article 87(5) of the Rules of Procedure provides that a party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings shall be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the observations of the other party on the discontinuance. However, upon application by the party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings, the costs shall be borne by the other party if this appears justified by the conduct of that party.
4 By application lodged at the Registry of the General Court on 20 August 2013, the applicants brought as a preventive measure the present action. In addition, the applicants, Mr Fard and Mr Sarkandi, indicate in their application to discontinue proceedings that the General Court granted their request to amend the form of order sought in case T-58/12 Nabipour and Others v Council [2013] ECR I-0000, paragraph 22, in order to include in their form of order sought also the annulment of Decision 2013/270, in so far as it concerns them. This decision is also contested in the present application. Furthermore, the General Court annulled the contested measures and ordered the Council to bear the costs incurred by the applicants in its judgment in case T-58/12.
5 In those circumstances, it is justified, given the conduct of the Council and according to Article 87(5) of the Rules of Procedure, that it shall be ordered to bear its own costs and those incurred by the applicants.
6 The case will therefore be removed from the register and the defendant be ordered to pay the costs.
On those grounds,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SEVENTH CHAMBER OF THE GENERAL COURT
hereby orders:
1. Case T-439/13 is removed from the register of the General Court.
2. The defendant shall bear the costs.
Luxembourg, 27 February 2014.
E. Coulon | | M. van der Woude |