Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2019:977
Date: 2019-09-12
Language of the case: English

Summary — Decision of the Court (Reviewing Chamber), 17 September 2018 Review — Subject of the review — Appointment of a judge — Possibility to form the subject of a review of indirect legality — Conditions (Art. 256(2) TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 62; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 193(4)) The review shall concern the question whether, having regard, in particular, to the general principle of legal certainty, the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 19 July 2018, Simpson v Council (T‑646/16 P, not published, EU:T:2018:493), affects the unity or consistency of EU law in that the General Court, as the court hearing the appeal, held that the composition of the panel of judges of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal which had delivered the order of 24 June 2016, Simpson v Council (F‑142/11 RENV, EU:F:2016:136), had been irregular, on the basis of an irregularity affecting the procedure for the appointment of one of the members of that panel of judges, leading to infringement of the principle of the lawful judge, laid down in the first sentence of the second paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The review shall involve, in particular, the question whether, like the acts covered by Article 277 TFEU, the appointment of a judge may form the subject matter of a review of indirect legality or whether such a review of indirect legality is — by principle or after the passage of a certain period of time — excluded or limited to certain types of irregularity in order to ensure legal certainty and the force of res judicata. (see operative part. 2)