Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2019:274
Date: 2019-05-02
Language of the case: English
Court formation: First Chamber
Based on: Merger Treaty (1965)
Subject matter: Staff regulations and employment conditions - EC
Procedure: Action for damages - unfounded;Staff cases - successful
Origin: Belgium

Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 2 May 2019 – QH v Parliament (Case T‑748/16) (Civil service — Members of the temporary staff — Article 24 of the Staff Regulations — Request for assistance — Article 12a of the Staff Regulations — Psychological harassment — Decision rejecting the request for assistance — Principles of objectivity and impartiality — Right to good administration — Right to be heard) 1. Officials — Principles — Rights of defence — Request for assistance regarding alleged psychological harassment — Duty of the administration to hear the person who submitted that request — Scope — Infringement — Consequences (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 41 and 48; Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 12a and 24) (see paras 47-54, 60-62) 2. Officials — Non-contractual liability of the institutions — Conditions — Unlawfulness — Injury — Causal link — Cumulative conditions (see para. 72) 3. Actions brought by officials — Actions for damages — Annulment of the illegal act in dispute — Non-material harm capable of being separated from the illegality and incapable of being fully compensated for by the annulment — Burden of proof (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 91) (see paras 73-76) Re: Application based on Article 270 TFEU seeking, first, annulment of the decision of the Parliament of 26 January 2016 by which the authority empowered to conclude contracts of employment of that institution rejected the request for assistance made by the applicant on 11 December 2014 and the decision of 12 July 2016 by which the authority empowered to conclude contracts of employment rejected the applicant’s claim and, secondly, compensation for the loss he allegedly suffered as a result of the unlawful conduct of that authority when processing that request for assistance. Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls the European Parliament’s decision of 26 January 2016 rejecting his request for assistance, as confirmed by the decision of 12 July 2016 rejecting his claim; 2. Dismisses the claim as to the remainder; 3. Declares that the parties are to bear their own costs.