Order — ECLI:EU:C:1997:493
Date: 1997-10-16
Language of the case: Greek
Court formation: Second Chamber
Based on: Merger Treaty (1965)
Subject matter: Staff regulations and employment conditions - EC
Concepts: Appeals;Obligation to assist officials
Procedure: Appeal - unfounded;Appeal - inadmissible;Staff cases

Summary of the O r d e r 
1. Appeals — Pleas in Uw — Erroneous assessment of the facts — Inadmissibility — Dismissal 
(EC Treaty, Art. 168a; EC Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 51) 
2. Officials — Obligation of the institution to provide assistance — Scope 
3. Appeals — Pleas in law — Erroneous assessment of the facts — Inadmissibility — Review by 
the Court of Justice of the assessment of evidence — None save where the clear sense has been 
distorted 
(EC Treaty, Art. 168a; EC Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 51) 
4. Appeals — Pleas in Uw — Plea concerning the decision of the Court of First Instance as to 
costs — Inadmissible where all other pleas have been rejected 
(EC Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 51, second para.) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-KO/96 P 
1. An appeal may be based only on grounds 
relating to the infringement of rules of 
law, to the exclusion of any appraisal of 
the facts. The Court of First Instance has 
exclusive jurisdiction, first, to establish 
the facts, except where the substantive 
inaccuracy of its findings is attributable 
to the documents submitted to it and, 
secondly, to assess those facts. The Court 
of Justice has jurisdiction under Article 
168a of the Treaty to review the legal 
characterization of those facts by the 
Court of First Instance and the legal con­
clusions it has drawn from them. 
2. Although the administration is required, 
when faced with an incident which is 
incompatible with the good order and 
tranquillity of the service, to intervene 
with all the necessary vigour so as to 
ascertain the facts and to take the appro­
priate action in full knowledge of the 
matter, it cannot take disciplinary action 
against the official in question unless the 
preliminary measures ordered clearly 
establish that the official concerned has 
engaged in conduct detrimental to the 
proper functioning of the service or to 
the dignity and reputation of another 
official. 
3. The appraisal by the Court of First 
Instance of the evidence put before it 
does not constitute, save where the clear 
sense of that evidence has been distorted, 
a point of law which is subject, as such, 
to review by the Court of Justice. 
4. Where all the other pleas in an appeal 
against a decision of the Court of First 
Instance have been rejected, the plea con­
cerning the illegality of the decision of 
that Court as to costs must, by virtue of 
the second paragraph of Article 51 of the 
Statute of the Court of Justice, be rejected 
as inadmissible 
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