JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Appeal Chamber)
18 June 2008
Case T-164/07 P
Asa Sundholm
v
Commission of the European Communities
(Appeal – Civil service – Officials – Career development report – 2003 appraisal procedure – Rights of the defence – Appeal inadmissible – Appeal unfounded)
Appeal: against the judgment of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal (Second Chamber) of 1 March 2007 in Case F-30/05 Sundholm v Commission [2007] ECR-SC I-A-1-0000 and II-A-1-0000, seeking to have that judgment set aside.
Held: The appeal is dismissed. Asa Sundholm is to bear her own costs and those incurred by the Commission in the present proceedings.
Summary
1.      Officials – Reports procedure – Career development report – Rights of the defence – Scope
(Staff Regulations, Art. 43)
2.      Appeals – Pleas in law – Plea submitted for the first time in the context of the appeal – Inadmissible
(Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 51)
1.      Under the reports procedure established by the Commission, the fact that the appeal assessor consulted the assessor or work
colleagues of the official under appraisal without hearing the official’s views may not be regarded as an infringement of
the principle of observance of the rights of the defence provided that the information thus obtained is no different from
the information which served as the basis for the assessments previously formulated by the assessor and the countersigning
officer, or that, if that is the case, the appeal assessor does not intend to use that information to the official’s detriment.
(see paras 28-29)
See: T-308/04 Ianniello v Commission [2007] ECR-SC I-A-2-0000 and II-A-2-0000, para. 73
2.      Contending before the Court of First Instance that a finding of the Civil Service Tribunal is incorrect on the basis of a
different factual premiss from that on which the Tribunal was required to take a view is tantamount to relying on a new plea
in law which extends the subject-matter of the proceedings and cannot therefore be pleaded for the first time at the appeal
stage. The jurisdiction of the appeal court is confined to review of the findings of law on the pleas argued before the court
of first instance .
(see paras 41-42)
See: C‑266/05 P Sison v Council [2007] ECR I‑1233, para. 95 and the case-law cited therein