62019TJ0641_INF
Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 30 June 2021 –FD v Fusion for Energy Joint Undertaking
(Case T‑641/19)
(Civil service – Temporary staff – Fixed-term contract – Decision not to renew – Psychological harassment – Misuse of powers – Duty to have regard for the welfare of staff – Equal treatment – Responsibilities)
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 of Officials, Arts 90 and 91)
(see paras 29-31)
2.
Officials – Members of the temporary staff – Recruitment – Non-renewal of a fixed-term contract – Allegation of psychological harassment – Requirement for a link between the harassment and the grounds of the decision not to renew
(Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 12a)
(see paras 37, 38)
3.
Actions brought by officials – Prior administrative complaint – Correspondence between the complaint and the application – Same subject matter and legal basis – Submissions and arguments not made in the complaint but closely related to it – Admissibility
(Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91)
(see para. 43)
4.
Actions brought by officials – Pleas in law – Plea alleging psychological harassment – Obligation to take into account the relevant factual context as a whole
(see para. 44)
5.
Actions brought by officials – Pleas in law – Misuse of powers – Meaning – Burden and administration of proof
(see para. 92)
6.
Officials – Members of the temporary staff – Recruitment – Renewal of a fixed-term contract – Administration’s discretion – Administration’s duty to have regard for the interests of officials – Account taken of the interests of the staff member concerned – Limits
(Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, Art. 8)
(see paras 130-134)
7.
Actions brought by officials – Application for damages linked to an application for annulment – Dismissal of claim for annulment leading to dismissal of the claim for compensation
(Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91)
(see para. 161)
8.
Actions brought by officials – Action for damages brought without a pre-litigation procedure in accordance with the Staff Regulations – Inadmissibility
(Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91)
(see para. 162)
Re:
Application under Article 270 TFEU for, first, annulment, in substance, of the decision of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy of 3 December 2018 not to renew the applicant’s fixed-term contract and, secondly, compensation for the material and non-material damage allegedly suffered by the applicant as a result of that decision, concerning an overall strategy of harassment of which, in his opinion, he was a victim.
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Dismisses the action;
2.
Orders FD to pay the costs.