Judgment — ECLI:EU:F:2014:190
Date: 2014-07-15
Language of the case: Spanish
Court formation: First Chamber
Based on: Merger Treaty (1965)
Subject matter: Staff regulations and employment conditions - EC
Procedure: Staff cases - unfounded;Staff cases - inadmissible

Summary 1. Officials — Competitions — Competition based on qualifications and tests — University diploma or degree required — Meaning of ‘diploma or degree’ — Determination on the basis of the legislation of the Member State in which the studies took place 2. Officials — Principles — Protection of legitimate expectations — Assurance given by a selection board contrary to the applicable rules — Situation not creating legitimate expectation of inclusion on the reserve list 1. In the absence of any provision to the contrary contained either in a regulation or a directive applicable to recruitment competitions or in the notice of competition, the requirement of possession of a university diploma on which admission to an open competition depends is necessarily to be construed in the light of the definition of such a diploma given in the legislation of the Member State in which the candidate completed the studies on which he relies. The university diploma which a candidate must possess in order to take part in an open competition must be fully recognised under the legislation of the Member State in which it was awarded. (see paras 30, 31) See: judgment in Jaenicke Cendoya v Commission, 108/88, EU:C:1989:325, para. 17 judgment in Alonso Morales v Commission, T‑299/97, EU:T:1999:314, para. 60 judgment in Zangerl-Posselt v Commission, F‑83/07, EU:F:2009:158, para. 51 2. Three conditions must be satisfied in order to claim entitlement to the protection of legitimate expectations. First, precise, unconditional and consistent assurances originating from authorised and reliable sources must have been given to the person concerned by the Union administration. Second, those assurances must be such as to give rise to a legitimate expectation on the part of the person to whom they are addressed. Third, the assurances given must comply with the applicable rules. A note from a selection board in a competition based on qualifications and tests assuring a candidate that he satisfies all the admission conditions laid down in the competition notice may not be regarded as raising legitimate expectations in the mind of that candidate where such assurances are inconsistent with the applicable rules because the candidate’s diploma does not meet the requirements of that notice. (see paras 47, 49) See: judgment in Neirinck v Commission, F‑84/05, EU:F:2007:33, para. 79