Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2014:602
Date: 2014-07-03
Language of the case: French
Subject matter: External relations;Common foreign and security policy
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment - successful

summary statement of reasons is sufficient (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Regulations No 36/2012 and No 363/2013) (see paras 91-93) 8. Actions for annulment — Grounds — Lack of or inadequate statement of reasons — Separate ground from the one concerning substantive legality (Arts 263 TFEU and 296 TFEU) (see para. 101) 9. EU law — Principles — Rights of defence — Right to effective judicial protection — Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies associated with the Syrian regime — Obligation to disclose individual and specific grounds for the decisions adopted — Obligation to enable the person concerned effectively to put forward his point of view on the grounds held against him (Art. 6(1) TEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 41(2)(a), and 47; Council Decision 2012/634/CFSP; Council Regulations No 944/2012 and No 363/2013) (see paras 111-132) 10. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against Syria — Freezing of funds and economic resources — Annulment action by a former Syrian government leader concerned by a fund-freezing decision — Burden of proof — Decision based on the presumption of links with the Syrian regime — Lawfulness — Conditions — Obligation to adduce sufficiently probative evidence of the persistence of such links — Obligation to examine carefully and impartially all the exculpatory evidence adduced by the person concerned (Art. 296, second para., TFEU; Council Regulations No 36/2012, No 410/2012, No 509/2012, 2012/544/CFSP, No 545/2012 and No 363/2013) (see paras 144-156, 161-170) 11. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies associated with the Syrian regime — Obligation to communicate the reasoning to the person concerned at the same time as the measure adversely affecting him or immediately thereafter — Correction of an error of reasoning during the proceedings before the Court — Not permissible (Art. 296, second para., TFEU; Council Regulation No 363/2013) (see para. 168) 12. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against Syria — Freezing of funds and economic resources — No breach of principle of proportionality (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 17; Council Regulations No 36/2012, No 410/2012, No 509/2012, 2012/544/CFSP, No 545/2012 and No 363/2013) (see paras 180-188) Re: ACTION for partial annulment, first, of Council Decision 2011/782/CFSP of 1 December 2011 concerning restrictive measures against Syria and repealing Decision 2011/273/CFSP (OJ 2011 L 319, p. 56), Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1244/2011 of 1 December 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (OJ 2011 L 319, p. 8) and Council Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 of 18 January 2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria and repealing Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 (OJ 2012 L 16, p. 1), in so far as those acts contain restrictive measures concerning the applicant, as well as of all future acts amending that decision or regulation and, secondly, of the Council’s communication of 16 March 2012 informing the applicant that his name was being maintained on the list of persons subject to restrictive measures. Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 363/2013 of 22 April 2013 implementing Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria, in so far as it concerns Mr Mohamad Nedal Alchaar; 2. Dismisses the action as to the remainder; 3. Orders the Council of the European Union to bear its own costs and to pay two thirds of the costs incurred by Mr Alchaar; 4. Orders Mr Alchaar to bear one third of his own costs; 5. Orders the European Commission to bear its own costs.