Judgment;Information — ECLI:EU:T:2025:948
Date: 2025-10-08
Language of the case: French
Based on: Merger Treaty (1965)
Procedure: Staff cases - unfounded;Action for damages - unfounded

Judgment of the General Court (Ninth Chamber) of 8 October 2025 – CQ v EESC (Case T‑117/24) ( Civil service – Officials – Psychological harassment – Administrative inquiry – Article 12a of the Staff Regulations – Request for assistance – Rejection of the request – Article 24 of the Staff Regulations – Obligation to state reasons – Impartiality – Right to be heard – Length of the administrative procedure – Reasonable time limit – Error of assessment – Liability – Non-material damage ) 1. Officials – Decision to close without further action an administrative investigation opened in response to a request for assistance in respect of psychological harassment – Obligation to state reasons – Scope (Art. 296 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(2)(c); Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 12a and 25) (see paragraphs 42-47) 2. Officials – Obligation of the administration to provide assistance – Implementation in the case of psychological harassment – Decision of the administration – Requirement of impartiality – Scope – Prior knowledge of the facts by a person called upon to participate in the adoption of a decision – Fact not in itself constituting a breach of the requirement of impartiality (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41; Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 12a) (see paragraphs 55-57, 63, 73, 74, 77) 3. Actions brought by officials – Pleas in law– Plea in law alleging breach of the requirement of impartiality – Burden of proof (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41; Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 12a) (see paragraphs 58, 77) 4. Officials – Rights and obligations – Internal inquiry into alleged psychological harassment – Right of the person requesting assistance to have access to the file relating to the inquiry – Limits (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(2)(b); Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 12a and 24) (see paragraphs 83-88, 93, 105-114) 5. Officials – Obligation of the administration to provide assistance – Scope – Duty of the administration to examine complaints of harassment – Duty to act within a reasonable time – Scope (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(2); Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 12a and 24) (see paragraphs 119-123, 129, 135, 136, 140) 6. Officials – Rights and obligations – Internal inquiry into alleged psychological harassment – Administration’s discretion – Scope – Judicial review – Limits (Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 12a and 24, first para.) (see paragraphs 160-165, 171, 172, 175, 179, 181) 7. Officials – Obligation of the administration to provide assistance – Scope – Duty of the administration to examine complaints of harassment – Duty of confidentiality – Scope (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 12a) (see paragraphs 185, 186) 8. Officials – Psychological harassment – Concept – Conduct intended to discredit the person concerned or to impair his or her working conditions or having that effect – Improper nature of the conduct – Criteria for assessment – Examination of a number of events taken as a whole – Taking account of professional difficulties encountered by the complainant – Whether permissible (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 12a(3)) (see paragraphs 202-206, 260, 264-266) 9. Officials – Psychological harassment – Concept – Opinions of medical experts – Fact not in itself determinative of the existence of psychological harassment (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 12a(3)) (see paragraph 243) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders CQ to pay the costs.