Judgment;Judgment (extracts) — ECLI:EU:T:2016:332
Date: 2016-06-02
Language of the case: Bulgarian
Court formation: Seventh Chamber
Subject matter: External relations;Common foreign and security policy
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment - successful

Summary — Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber), 2 June 2016 1. Judicial proceedings — Decision or regulation replacing the contested measure in the course of proceedings — Application to modify the application — No obligation on the applicant to lodge that request by a separate document — Inadmissibility (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 86(1) and (2)) 2. European Union — Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions — Restrictive measures against Syria — Ambit of the review (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP; Council Regulation No 36/2012) 3. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against Syria — Freezing of funds and economic resources — Annulment action by a person benefiting from the policies of the Syrian regime covered by a fund-freezing decision — Burden of proof — Decision based on a bundle of evidence — Lawfulness — Conditions (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP; Council Regulation No 36/2012) 4. Common foreign and security policy — Specific restrictive measures against certain persons and bodies in view of the situation in Syria — Decision 2013/255/CFSP and Regulation No 36/2012 — No presumption that the directors of the main undertakings of Syria support the Syrian regime (Council Decision 2013/255/CFSP; Council Regulation No 36/2012) 1. It is clear from Article 86(1) and (2) of the Rules of Procedure that, where a measure the annulment of which is sought is replaced or amended by another measure with the same subject matter, the applicant may, before the oral part of the procedure is closed, modify the application to take account of that new factor. The modification of the application must be made by a separate document within the time limit laid down in the sixth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU, within which the annulment of the measure justifying the modification of the application may be sought. Thus, a request for modification of the application made orally, at the hearing, is inadmissible. (see paras 28, 29) 2. See the text of the decision. (see para. 38) 3. See the text of the decision. (see paras 39-41) 4. Article 28(1) of Decision 2013/255 concerning restrictive measures against Syria and Article 14(1) of Regulation No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria and repealing Regulation No 442/2011 are essentially concerned with persons and bodies benefiting from the policies of the regime or supporting it, persons and bodies linked therewith, and all the funds and economic resources which they possess, hold or control. However, neither Decision 2013/255 nor Regulation No 36/2012 define the concepts of benefit from the policies of the Syrian regime or support for that regime. Nor do they contain any details regarding how those matters are to be proved. Consequently, neither Decision 2011/273 nor Regulation No 442/2011 establishes a presumption that the heads of the leading businesses of Syria provide support for the Syrian regime. Consequently, it cannot be inferred from the status of an important businessman that the person concerned supports the Syrian regime or benefits from its policies. In that regard, documents supplied by the Council, merely describing the companies of a group not subject to restrictive measures and their areas of activity, without however providing any other evidence capable of demonstrating the support which the person directing that group gives to the regime or the benefit which he derives from its policies, contain only general information and provide no precision as to the link between those facts and the fact of benefit from the regime’s policies or support given to it. Such information is not capable of establishing such support or such a benefit. (see paras 44, 49, 50)