JUDGMENT OF THE GENERAL COURT (Appeal Chamber)

11 December 2014

Case T‑619/13 P

Carla Faita

v

European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

(Appeal — Civil service — Officials — Psychological harassment — Lack of assistance and breach of the duty of care — Error of law — Rights of the defence)

Appeal:      against the judgment of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal (Second Chamber) of 16 September 2013 in Faita v EESC (F‑92/11, ECR-SC, EU:F:2013:130), seeking to have that judgment set aside.

Held:      The appeal is dismissed. Ms Carla Faita is to bear her own costs and is ordered to pay the costs incurred by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).

Summary

Actions brought by officials — Prior administrative complaint — Rejection decision — No obligation for the administration to substitute grounds for the original decision

(Staff Regulations, Art. 90)

Where, after considering a complaint by an official, the competent appointing authority considers that the grounds for the original decision which is the subject of that complaint are both well founded and sufficient to respond to the allegations made in the complaint, there is no reason for it to depart from that statement of reasons by substituting another. In those circumstances it may, therefore, reject the complaint, reproducing, in the rejection decision, the same grounds as those given in the original decision, without being criticised for infringing the obligation to provide a statement of reasons or the principle of sound administration.

(see para. 32)