Action brought on 2 August 2011 - Makhlouf v Council

(Case T-432/11)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: Rami Makhlouf (Damascus, Syria) (represented by: E. Ruchat, lawyer)

Defendant: Council of the European Union

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

declare the applicant's application admissible and well-founded;

annul Council Decision 2011/273/CFSP of 9 May 2011 and the subsequent measures implementing that decision which keep the applicant on the list of persons covered by the restrictive measures, and Council Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 of 9 May 2011 and the subsequent measures implementing it, in so far as they relate to the applicant;

order the Council of the European Union to pay the costs of the proceedings.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicant relies on three pleas in law.

First plea in law: infringement of the rights of the defence and of the right to effective judicial protection provided for in Articles 6 and 13 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ('ECHR') and in Articles 41 and 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Second plea in law: infringement of the obligation to state reasons, in so far as the applicant complains that the Council's reasoning does not meet the obligation on the institutions of the European Union laid down in Article 6 of the ECHR, Article 296 TFEU and Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Third plea in law: the contested measures restrict the applicant's fundamental rights in an unjustified and disproportionate manner, in particular his right to property, provided for in Article 1 of the First Additional Protocol to the ECHR and Article 17 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, his right to respect for his good name and reputation, provided for in Articles 8 and 10 of the ECHR and, lastly, the principle of the presumption of innocence provided for in Article 6 of the ECHR and Article 48 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

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