Case T-459/07

Hangzhou Duralamp Electronics Co., Ltd

v

Council of the European Union

(Preliminary issues – Withdrawal of a document from the case‑file – Removal of a sentence from the case‑file)

Summary of the Order

Procedure – Treatment of cases before the Court of First Instance – Protection given to parties against misuse of pleadings – Scope

(Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance, Arts 64(3)(d), 65(b) and 116(2); Instructions to the Registrar of the Court of First Instance, Art. 5(5))

According to the rules governing the treatment of cases before the Court of First Instance, parties are entitled to protection against the misuse of pleadings. Therefore, the parties to a case, whether the main parties or interveners, have the right to use the pleadings of other parties to which they have been granted access solely for the purpose of defending their own legal position in the context of that case. Each case brought before the Court has its own case‑file containing the documents and pleadings produced by the parties to the case in question and each case‑file is completely separate. It is true that apart from exceptional cases in which disclosure of a document might adversely affect the proper administration of justice, parties to proceedings are free to disclose their own written submissions to parties not involved in those proceedings and that, likewise, a party to proceedings may, subject to the same proviso, consent to a pleading which it presented in the context of those proceedings being used by another party thereto in the context of separate proceedings. However, the same does not apply where the party seeking to use that pleading has not asked for permission to do so from the party which produced it. In any event, should the Court take the view that a pleading presented in the context of another case might be of use in resolving another dispute, it could order its production pursuant to Articles 64(3)(d) or 65(b) of its Rules of Procedure.

(see paras 12-15)