Judgment;Information — ECLI:EU:T:2020:381
Date: 2020-09-02
Language of the case: English
Court formation: First Chamber
Based on: Merger Treaty (1965)
Subject matter: Staff regulations and employment conditions - EC
Procedure: Staff cases - successful

Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 2 September 2020 – IR v Commission (Case T‑131/20) (Civil service – Officials – Rights and obligations of officials – Secondment in the interests of the service – Article 37, first paragraph, heading (a), first indent, of the Staff Regulations – Article 38 of the Staff Regulations – Refusal to extend a secondment – Duty to have regard for the welfare of officials – Rights of the defence) 1. Actions brought by officials – Action against a decision rejecting a complaint – Effect – Disputed measure referred to the Court – Exception – Decision not confirmatory in character – Account taken of the reasoning therein (Staff Regulations, Arts 90 and 91) (see paras 29, 30) 2. Actions brought by officials – Pleas in law – Lack of or inadequate statement of reasons – Separate ground from the one concerning substantive legality (Staff Regulations, Art. 25, second para.) (see paras 40, 41, 48) 3. Officials – Secondment in the interest of the service – Extension of a secondment – Administration’s discretion – Administration's duty to have regard for the interests of officials – Account taken of the interests of the staff member concerned – Judicial review – Limits (Staff Regulations, Arts 37, first para. (a) and Art. 38(b)) (see paras 62-66, 77) 4. Officials – Secondment in the interest of the service – Extension of a secondment – Observance of the rights of the defence – Obligation to hear the person concerned before adopting a measure adversely affecting him – Scope – Infringement – Consequences (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(2); Staff Regulations, Arts 37, first para. (a) and 38(b)) (see paras 98-106, 111-113) Re: Application under Article 270 TFEU seeking annulment, first, of the decision of the Commission of 2 July 2019 rejecting the request of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) that the applicant’s secondment within its services should be extended for an additional year and, second, of the decision of 23 January 2020 rejecting the applicant’s complaint brought against the decision of 2 July 2019. Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls the decision of the European Commission of 2 July 2019 rejecting the request of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) that IR’s secondment within its services be extended for an additional year; 2. Orders the Commission to pay the costs.