Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 30 November 2016 —
Bank Refah Kargaran v Council
(Case T‑65/14)
(Common Foreign and Security Policy — Restrictive measures against Iran — Freezing of funds — Further listing of the applicant after annulment of the initial listing by the General Court — Error in law — Error in fact — Obligation to state reasons — Rights of the defence — Right to effective judicial protection — Proportionality)
1. European Union — Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions — Restrictive measures against Iran — Measures in the context of the fight against nuclear proliferation — Ambit of the review — Restricted review for general rules — Criteria for adopting restrictive measures — Support for the Iranian Government — Scope — Compliance with the principle of legal certainty requiring clarity, precision and foreseeability of the effects of legal rules
(Council Decisions 2010/413/CFSP, Art. 20(1)(c), and 2012/35/CFSP, thirteenth recital; Council Regulation No 267/2012, Art. 23(2)(d))
(see paras 38-40, 119)
2. Actions for annulment — Contested act — Assessment of lawfulness — Criteria
(Art. 263 TFEU)
(see paras 43, 131)
3. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Restrictive measures against Iran — Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies engaged in or supporting nuclear proliferation — Minimum requirements
(Art. 296 TFEU; Council Decision 2010/413/CFSP, as amended by Council Decision 2013/661/CFSP; Council Regulations No 267/2012 and No 1154/2013)
(see paras 55-58)
4. European Union — Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions — Restrictive measures against Iran — Measures in the context of the fight against nuclear proliferation — Ambit of the review
(Art. 275, second para., TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 41(2), and 47; Council Decision 2010/413/CFSP)
(see paras 78-82)
5. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against Iran — Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies engaged in or supporting nuclear proliferation — Restriction of the right to property and the free exercise of an economic activity — No breach of principle of proportionality
(Council Decision 2010/413/CFSP, as amended by Council Decision 2013/661/CFSP; Council Regulations No 267/2012 and No 1154/2013)
(see paras 115, 116, 122-126)
Re:
| APPLICATION based on Article 263 TFEU and seeking, principally, annulment of Council Decision 2013/661/CFSP of 15 November 2013 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2010 L 306, p. 18), and of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1154/2013 of 15 November 2013, implementing Regulation (EU) No 267/2012 concerning restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2013 L 306, p. 3), in so far as those acts concern the applicant, and, in the alternative, annulment of Decision 2013/661 and of Implementing Regulation No 1154/2013 in so far as those acts concern the applicant as from 20 January 2014. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders Bank Refah Kargaran to pay, in addition to its own costs, the costs incurred by the Council of the European Union; |
3. | | Orders the European Commission to bear its own costs. |