Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 10 April 2019–AV v Commission
(Case T‑303/18 RENV)
(Civil service — Temporary agents — Engagement — Article 13 of the CEOS — Pre-engagement medical examination — Incomplete declarations at the medical examination — Failure of the person concerned to declare an illness — Subsequent discovery by the AECE — Retroactive application of medical cover deferment for five years — Referral to the Invalidity Committee — Reasonable time limit — Responsibility — Non-material injury)
1.      Officials — Members of the temporary staff — Recruitment — Medical examination — Candidate’s obligation to answer the questions asked — Consequences of incorrect or incomplete declarations — Retroactive application of medical cover deferment — Condition — Prior referral to the medical officer
(Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, Art. 12(2)(d) and Art. 32)
(see paras 61, 62, 65, 66, 70)
2.      EU law — Principles — Duty to act within a reasonable time — Infringement in an administrative procedure — Passage of time likely to affect the content of a decision — Consequences in the context of medical cover deferment under Article 32 of the Conditions of Employment of other servants
(Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(1); Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, Art. 32)
(see paras 81, 82, 87)
3.      Officials — Non-contractual liability of the institutions — Conditions — Unlawfulness — Damage — Causal link — Cumulative conditions
(see para. 104)
4.      Officials — Non-contractual liability of the institutions — Conditions — Compensation for loss caused to an official or member of staff — Administration's duty to have regard for the interests of officials — Scope
(see para. 105)
Re:
Application based on Article 270 TFEU seeking, first, annulment of the decision of the Commission of 16 September 2014 by which the authority empowered to conclude contracts of employment of that institution decided to apply to the applicant the medical reservation clause provided for in Article 32 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union and not to grant him an invalidity allowance and, second, compensation for the harm he has allegedly suffered in connection with that decision.
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Rejects the claims for annulment;
2.
Orders the European Commission to pay AV an amount of EUR 3 000;
3.
Rejects the claim for damages for the remainder;
4.
Orders AV and the Commission each to pay their own costs pertaining to the initial proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal of the European Union, in the action in Case F‑91/15 and in the present appeal proceedings in T‑303/18 RENV.
5.
Orders AV to bear its own costs and pay the costs incurred by the Commission in the appeal proceedings in case T‑701/16 P.