Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 15 December 2021 –
FT and Others v Commission

(Case T‑224/20)

(Civil Service – Officials – Remuneration – Commission staff posted to a third country – Interim update of correction coefficients – Manifest error of assessment – Retroactive effect – Legal certainty – Duty to have regard for the welfare of officials)

1.      Officials – Remuneration – Weightings – Fixing – Interim update decided by the Commission – Aim

(Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 64 and 65)

(see paras 54, 55, 62)

2.      Officials – Remuneration – Weightings – Fixing – Discretion of the institutions – Judicial review – Limits – Manifest error of assessment – Burden of proof

(Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 64 and 65 and Annex XI)

(see paras 56-58, 60, 63, 78, 82)

3.      Officials – Remuneration – Weightings – Fixing – Criteria – Impact of the increase in weightings applied to the salaries of staff of the United Nations organisations – None

(Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 64)

(see paras 67, 68)

4.      Officials – Remuneration – Weightings – Fixing – Retroactive update because of the late publication of purchase price data – Breach of the principle of equal treatment, duty to have regard for the welfare of officials and equivalence of purchasing power – None

(Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 64 and Annex X, Art. 13)

(see paras 95, 96, 102, 103, 105)

5.      Actions brought by officials – Pleas in law – Plea in law alleging breach of the principle of legal certainty – Reliance on the inability to understand the procedure for updating the correction coefficients – Rejection

(Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 64 and 65 and Annex XI)

(see paras 97-101)

6.      Officials – Recovery of undue payments – Conditions – Patent overpayment – Knowledge of the person concerned – Criteria – Sums paid when applying the correction coefficients – Patent irregularity – Correct amount can only be determined after payment – Irrelevant

(Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 64 and 85 and Annex X, Art. 13)

(see para. 107)

Re:

Application under Article 270 TFEU for annulment of the applicants’ salary statements for the month of June 2019 in so far as they apply, for the first time, the correction coefficients fixed, with retroactive effect, on 1 August 2018.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders FT and the other applicants whose names appear in the annex to pay the costs.