Judgment — ECLI:EU:F:2010:7
Date: 2010-02-04
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Second Chamber
Based on: Merger Treaty (1965)
Subject matter: Staff regulations and employment conditions - EC
Procedure: Staff cases - unfounded

Summary 1. Officials — Actions — Act adversely affecting an official — Decision adopted after reconsideration of a previous decision (Staff Regulations, Arts 90(2) and 91(1)) 2. Acts of the institutions — Presumption of legality — Information calling legality of an act into question 1. When a candidate whose request to be admitted to a Community competition has been rejected seeks reconsideration of that decision, it is only the decision taken by the selection board after reconsideration which must be regarded as the act adversely affecting him. It is therefore against that decision that the candidate must direct his heads of claim. (see para. 20) See: T-173/05 Heus v Commission [2006] ECR-SC I‑A‑2‑329 and II‑A‑2‑1695, para. 19 F-73/06 Van Neyghem v Commission [2007] ECR-SC I‑A‑1‑441 and II‑A‑1‑2515, para. 39 2. An administrative act is presumed to be lawful and the burden of proof lies, in principle, with the person claiming it to be unlawful, so that it is for the applicant to provide at the very least sufficiently precise, objective and consistent information to corroborate the truth or likelihood of the facts in support of his claim. Consequently, an applicant who has neither evidence nor, at the very least, a body of information at his disposal must accept that decisions adopted in relation to competitions are presumed to be lawful, and he cannot expect the Civil Service Tribunal itself to examine the candidatures of the successful candidates in order to ascertain whether some successful candidates were unlawfully admitted to the competition. (see para. 21) See: C-274/99 P Connolly v Commission [2001] ECR I-1611, paras 113 and 114 T-272/94 Brulant v Parliament [1996] ECR-SC I‑A‑513 and II‑1397, para. 35; T‑57/99 Griesel v Council [2000] ECR-SC I‑A‑151 and II‑699, para. 25