Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1997:270
Date: 1997-05-29
Language of the case: French
Based on: Merger Treaty (1965)
Subject matter: Staff regulations and employment conditions - EC
Procedure: Staff cases;Appeal - successful

Summary of the Judgmen t 
1. Appeals — Pleas in Uw — Inadequate statement of reasons — Jurisdiction of the Court of 
Justice — Review of the extent of the obligation to state reasons for a decision imposing a 
duciplinary measure on an official — Account taken of the findings of fact made by the Court 
of First Instance — Included 
(EC Treaty, Art. 190; Staff ReguLtions, Art. 25, second para.) 
2. Appeals — Pleas in Uw — Grounds of a judgment vitiated by an infringement of Commu­
nity Uw — Erroneous assessment by the Court of First Instance of the statement of reasons 
for a decision imposing a disciplinary measure on an official — Appeal well founded 
(EC Treaty, Art. 190; Staff ReguLtions, Art. 25, second para.) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-188/96 P 
1. The extent of the obligation to state rea­
sons for a decision imposing a disciplin­
ary measure on an official is a question of 
law reviewable by the Court of Justice on 
appeal. Its review, in that context, of the 
legality of a decision must of necessity 
take into consideration the facts on which 
the Court of First Instance based itself in 
reaching its conclusion as to the adequacy 
or inadequacy of the statement of rea­
sons. 
2. The statement of the reasons for a 
decision adversely affecting the person 
concerned must enable the Community 
judicature to exercise its review of legality 
arid provide that person with the infor­
mation which he needs in order to know 
whether the decision is well founded. 
Where a decision imposing a disciplinary 
measure on an official gives a sufficiently 
precise indication of the reasons for 
which the appointing authority decided 
not to follow the Disciplinary Board's 
advice and to impose a heavier sanction 
than that advocated by the latter, a judg­
ment of the Court of First Instance find­
ing the statement of reasons for that 
decision inadequate is vitiated by an error 
of law. 
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