Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2000:170
Date: 2000-06-27
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Third Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: External relations;Overseas countries and territories;European Development Fund (EDF)
Concepts: Association of Overseas Countries and Territories;Admissibility and examination of applications, forms of order sought and pleas in law;Independent nature of the action for damages
Procedure: Action for damages - unfounded
Origin: France

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Procedure — Application initiating proceedings — Requirements as to form — 
Subject-matter of the dispute to be indicated — Pleas in law relied upon to be briefly 
stated — Application for compensation in respect of damage caused by a Community 
institution 
(EC Statute of the Court of justice, Arts 19 and 46; Rules of Procedure of the Court of 
First Instance, Art. 44(1) (c)) 
2. Actions for damages — Independent of actions for annulment — Action seeking 
withdrawal of an individual decision which has become definitive — Inadmissible 
(EC Treaty, Arts 178 and 215, second para, (now Arts 235 EC and 288, second para., 
EC)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE T-72/99 
3. Association of the overseas countries and territories — Implementation by the 
Council — Decision 80/1186 — Programmes financed by the European Development 
Fund — Finance agreement — Absence of contractual link between the Commission 
and the applicant — Action for damages brought against the Commission — Liability 
of the Community — Conditions 
(EC Treaty, Arts 178 and 215, second para, (now Arts 235 EC and 288, second para., 
EC); Council Decision 80/1186) 
1. According to Article 19 of the Statute 
of the Court of Justice, which is 
applicable to proceedings before the 
Court of First Instance by virtue of the 
first paragraph of Article 46 of that 
Statute and Article 44(1 )(c) of the 
Rules of Procedure of the Court of 
First Instance, an application must, 
inter alia, specify the subject-matter of 
the dispute and contain a brief state­
ment of the pleas in law. In order to 
fulfil those requirements, an applica­
tion seeking compensation for damage 
allegedly caused by a Community 
institution must state the evidence from 
which the conduct alleged by the 
applicant against the institution may 
be identified, the reasons for which the 
applicant considers there to be a causal 
link between the conduct and the 
damage which he claims to have suf­
fered and the nature and extent of that 
damage. 
(see para. 30) 
2. The right to claim damages under 
Article 178 of the Treaty (now Arti­
cle 235 EC) and the second paragraph 
of Article 215 of the Treaty (now the 
second paragraph of Article 288 EC) 
was introduced as a self-standing right 
of action having a specific function 
within the system of rights of action so 
that, as a matter of principle, inadmis­
sibility of an action for annulment does 
not entail inadmissibility of an action 
for damages for injury allegedly suf­
fered as a result of the act whose 
annulment could be sought. It is other­
wise where the action for damages is 
actually aimed at securing withdrawal 
of an individual decision which has 
become definitive or where it amounts 
to a misuse of procedure. 
(see para. 36) 
3. Although under the agreement for 
financing a planting programme, pro­
vided for in the framework of the 
association of the overseas countries 
and territories, there is no contractual 
relationship between the Commission 
and the applicant running such a 
plantation, the Community may be 
liable under the second paragraph of 
Article 215 of the Treaty (now the 
second paragraph of Article 288 EC) 
to make good damage suffered by third 
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MEYER V COMMISSION 
parties as a result of acts committed by 
it in the performance of its duties. 
However, for the Community to incur 
liability the applicant must prove not 
only the illegality of the conduct of 
which the institution concerned is 
accused and the fact of the damage 
but also the existence of a causal link 
between that conduct and the damage 
complained of, which must moreover 
stem sufficiently directly from the con­
duct complained of. 
(see paras 47-49) 
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