Advice for lawyers and agents regarding the written procedure before the Court of First Instance drawn up by the Registrar pursuant to Article 18 (2) of the Instructions to the Registrar of 3 March 1994

(94/C 120/36)

I. The purpose of the written procedure

The purpose of the written procedure before the Court of First Instance is to define the subject-matter of the action and to put before the Court all the claims of the parties by informing it of the relevant facts, forms of order sought, and the pleas and arguments of the parties so as to enable the Court to give judgment in the action.

II. The presentation and drafting of pleadings

1. Pleadings should have a clear structure: each section should have a title and paragraphs should be numbered consecutively. In the case of lengthy pleadings, it is desirable to introduce each section with a brief summary of its contents and to include a table of contents in the pleading.

2. Since the number of pleadings which each party may submit to the Court is limited (see Article 47 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance) and new pleas may not be raised in the course of the proceedings except in certain limited circumstances (see Article 48 of the Rules of Procedure), it is advisable that a party should set out its entire case as fully as possible in its first pleading (the application or the defence).

3. In view of the fact that the Judges will often study a set of pleadings by reading translations of them into another language, it is advisable to draft pleadings in a simple, straightforward and concise style which facilitates translation and to limit the number of pages to what is strictly necessary.

4. When pleadings are drafted documents to which reference is made in them should be clearly identified and care should also be taken to ensure that all important documents are submitted. Documents should be identified by indicating, each time reference is made to them, the pleading to which the document concerned is annexed, with an indication of the annex number as it appears in the schedule of annexes attached to that pleading. It is desirable for each document to be identified in the same way throughout both the written and oral proceedings. Attaching to a pleading document already submitted to the Court as annexes to another pleading needlessly increases the volume of written evidence to be considered by the Court and may cause confusion.

5. When addressing the arguments of another party it is advisable to refer to the relevant pages of the other party's pleading.

III. The structure of pleadings

1. Originating applications must comply with Article 44 of the Rules of Procedure. Ideally, they should be structured as follows:

1. Indication of the parties

See Article 44 (1) (a) and (b) and (2) of the Rules of Procedure.

2. Details of the type of dispute involved

For example: 'Application under Article 173 of the EC Treaty for the annulment of a decision of (the institution concerned) . . .'

3. A summary of the relevant facts

Supported by references to the documents and offers of evidence.

4. Any considerations relating to the admissibility of the action

5. A brief statement of all the pleas in law on which the action is based

6. A summary of the arguments put forward in support of each plea in law

including, where appropriate, references to the relevant case-law of the Court of Justice and of the Court of First Instance.

7. Form of order sought

Parties must set out the precise terms of the operative part of the order or judgment which they seek (for example: '1. annul the defendant's decision of . . .; 2. order the defendant to pay the costs'). When drawing up the form of order sought, those acting for applicants should bear in mind what is laid down in Article 176 of the EC Treaty and that it is unnecessary to reiterate in the form of order sought pleas and arguments set out earlier in the application (for example, the following types of formulation should be avoided '. . . declare that the action is admissible and well-founded; declare that the contested decision does not state the reasons on which it is based and is contrary to the provisions of the Treaty and the principle of proportionality . . .'). Reference should also be made to Article 87 of the Rules of Procedure as regards any order sought in the matter of costs.

2. In order to facilitate the drafting of the Official Journal notice provided for by Article 24 (6) of the Rules of Procedure and to ensure that the subject-matter of the case and the pleas in law and main arguments contained in the application are clearly identified, it is advisable to annex to the application a brief outline of the pleas in law and main arguments together with a table of contents.

IV. Production of annexes

1. Pleadings and procedural documents may be accompanied by documents annexed to them in order to substantiate or illustrate their contents. However, mere reference to an annex will be no substitute for including a summary of the facts, pleas and arguments in the body of the pleading or procedural document. Only annexes mentioned in the pleadings will be admissible.

2. A schedule of annexes must be submitted, as prescribed by Article 43 (4) of the Rules of Procedure and Article 6 (4) of the Instructions to the Registrar. Ideally, this schedule should set out the annex numbers, the date and nature of the documents annexed and the pages of the pleading on which reasons for the production of the respective annexes are given. In some cases, subnumbers will facilitate the identification of documents.

3. Lawyers and agents should ensure that the pleadings and evidence submitted are not made unnecessarily lengthy by the production of an excessive number of annexes and that the really important passages or information contained in annexes are still reproduced in the body of the pleadings.