ORDER OF THE GENERAL COURT (Appeal Chamber)

7 July 2014

Case T‑39/14 P

Joaquim Paulo Gomes Moreira

v

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

(Appeal — Civil service — Members of the temporary staff — Time-limit for bringing proceedings — Out of time — Appeal clearly inadmissible)

Appeal:      against the judgment of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal (First Chamber) of 23 October 2013 in Gomes Moreira v ECDC (F‑80/11, ECR-SC, EU:F:2013:159), seeking to have that judgment set aside.

Held:      The appeal is dismissed. Mr Joaquim Paulo Gomes Moreira is to bear his own costs.

Summary

Appeal — Time-limits — Matter of public policy — To be considered of the EU Court’s own motion

(Statute of the Court of Justice, Annex I, Art. 9, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 102(2))

Under the first paragraph of Article 9 of Annex I to the Statute of the Court of Justice, an appeal may be brought before the General Court, within two months of notification of the decision appealed against, against final decisions of the Civil Service Tribunal and decisions of that Tribunal disposing of the substantive issues in part only or disposing of a procedural issue concerning a plea of lack of jurisdiction or inadmissibility. In this respect, in accordance with Article 102(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court, that procedural time-limit is to be extended on account of distance by a single period of 10 days. Procedural time-limits and extensions on account of distance are not separate, so that when the procedural time-limit ends, it must be extended on account of distance by a single period of 10 days.

Furthermore, the time-limit for bringing proceedings is a matter of public policy, since it was established in order to ensure that legal positions are clear and certain and to avoid any discrimination or arbitrary treatment in the administration of justice, and it is for the EU Court to ascertain of its own motion whether it has been complied with.

(see paras 5, 6)

See:

order of 15 May 1991 in Emsland-Stärke v Commission, C‑122/90, ECR, EU:C:1991:209, para. 9; and judgment of 23 January 1997 in Coen, C‑246/95, ECR, EU:C:1997:33, para. 21

judgment of 18 September 1997 in Mutual Aid Administration Services v Commission, T‑121/96 and T‑151/96, ECR, EU:T:1997:132, paras 38 and 39; orders of 20 November 1997 in Horeca-Wallonie v Commission, T‑85/97, ECR, EU:T:1997:180, paras 25 and 26, and 15 July 2011 in College of staff representatives of the EIB and Others v Bömcke, T‑213/11 P(I), ECR-SC, EU:T:2011:397, para. 11