ORDER OF THE GENERAL COURT (Appeal Chamber)

21 October 2013

Case T‑226/13 P

Luigi Marcuccio

v

European Commission

(Appeal — Civil service — Action at first instance dismissed as manifestly devoid of any basis in law — Letter concerning compliance with a judgment of the Civil Service Tribunal sent to the appellant’s representative in the appeal brought against that judgment — Appeal clearly inadmissible in part and clearly unfounded in part)

Appeal:      against the order of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal (Third Chamber) of 6 February 2013 in Case F‑67/12 Marcuccio v Commission [2013] ECR-SC, seeking that that order be set aside.

Held:      The appeal is dismissed. Mr Luigi Marcuccio is to bear his own costs and is ordered to pay those incurred by the European Commission on the appeal. Mr Marcuccio is ordered to pay the General Court the sum of EUR 2 000 pursuant to Article 90 of the Rules of Procedure.

Summary

1.      Officials — Non-contractual liability of the institutions — Conditions — Unlawfulness — Damage — Causal link — Burden of proof

(Art. 340, second para., TFEU)

2.      Appeals — Pleas in law — Plea directed against a superfluous ground — Invalid plea in law — Rejection

3.      Appeals — Pleas in law — Plea directed against the Civil Service Tribunal’s decision on costs — Inadmissible where all other pleas are rejected

(Statute of the Court of Justice, Annex I, Art. 11(2))

4.      Judicial proceedings — Court costs — Costs incurred by the Civil Service Tribunal as a result of an action which is an abuse of process by an official — Order for the official to refund those costs

(Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 90(a))

1.      The Union incurs non-contractual liability only if a series of cumulative conditions are met as regards the unlawfulness of the acts alleged against the defendant institution, the actual fact of the alleged damage and the existence of a causal link between the contested acts and the damage complained of.

The fact that a decision of an institution is vitiated by an illegality is not a sufficient condition for the Union to incur non-contractual liability, since for such liability to be incurred the appellant must have been able to prove the actual fact of the damage he claims and the causal link between that damage and the illegality complained of.

(see paras 21-22)

See:

T‑46/08 P Marcuccio v Commission [2009] ECR-SC I‑B‑1-77 and II‑B‑1-479, paras 66 and 67 and the case-law cited therein; T‑143/09 P Commission v Petrilli [2010] ECR-SC, para. 45 and the case-law cited therein

2.      See the text of the decision.

(see para. 29)

See:

C‑496/99 P Commission v CAS Succhi di Frutta [2004] ECR I‑3801, para. 68 and the case-law cited therein

T‑616/11 P Marcuccio v Commission [2012] ECR-SC, para. 44

3.      See the text of the decision.

(see para. 35)

See:

T‑491/11 P Marcuccio v Commission [2012] ECR-SC, para. 40; T‑616/11 P Marcuccio v Commission, para. 52 and the case-law cited therein

4.      See the text of the decision.

(see paras 41-44)

See:

T‑616/11 P Marcuccio v Commission, paras 40 and 52; T‑286/11 P Marcuccio v Commission [2012] ECR-SC, paras 52 and 69