LEGAL AID FORM

Any natural or legal person, whether or not represented by a lawyer, who intends to apply for legal aid with a view to bringing an action before the General Court, or in a case to which he is a party, is invited to take note of the following information before completing the various sections of the form

1. Legal context

The provisions concerning legal aid are contained in the Rules of Procedure of the General Court (Articles 146 to 150) and in the Practice Rules for the Implementation of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court (points 1, 17 to 19, 33, 51, 57, 120, 121 and 198 to 207) (‘the Practice Rules’).

The Rules of Procedure of the General Court and the Practice Rules are available on the website of the Court of Justice of the European Union (http://curia.europa.eu) under ‘General Court’/‘Procedure’.

2. Rules of representation before the General Court

In order to bring an action before the General Court, any natural or legal person must be represented by a lawyer authorised to practise before a court of a Member State or of another State which is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (Article 51 of the Rules of Procedure). This rule lays down the principle of the mandatory representation of an applicant by a lawyer.

If, because of his financial situation, that person is wholly or partly unable to meet the costs of the proceedings, the Rules of Procedure provide that he is to be entitled to legal aid (Article 146(1) of the Rules of Procedure). Unlike an action, which must be lodged by a lawyer representing the applicant, an application for legal aid may be submitted with or without the assistance of a lawyer.

3. Jurisdiction of the General Court and admissibility criteria

Legal aid cannot be granted by the General Court if it is clear that the Court has no jurisdiction to hear and determine the action in respect of which the application for legal aid is made (Article 146(2) of the Rules of Procedure).

Under the Treaties and the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the General Court has jurisdiction in:

— direct actions brought by individuals and by Member States (1) seeking annulment of acts of the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, a declaration that those institutions, bodies, offices or agencies have unlawfully failed to act or compensation for damage sustained, and actions based on arbitration clauses;

— actions for annulment of decisions taken by the Boards of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and of the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO).

Thus, an application for legal aid will be refused on the grounds of the General Court's lack of jurisdiction in the action if that action is brought for the purpose of:

— contesting the lawfulness of an act adopted by national authorities (whether administrative or judicial);

— contesting a decision taken by an international body which is not within the institutional system of the European Union (for example the European Court of Human Rights).

Nor can legal aid be granted if the action in respect of which the application for legal aid is made appears to be manifestly inadmissible or manifestly lacking any foundation in law (Article 146(2) of the Rules of Procedure).

Thus, an application for legal aid made before the action to which it relates is brought, but after the time limit for bringing that action has expired, will be refused, since the action would be dismissed as inadmissible on the ground of delay.

4. Mandatory legal aid form

The legal aid form, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, is available on the website of the Court of Justice of the European Union under ‘General Court’/‘Procedure’.

The use of that form is mandatory when applying for legal aid, both before an action is brought and while a case is ongoing. An application for legal aid submitted without the application form will not be taken into consideration (Article 147 of the Rules of Procedure and point 198 of the Practice Rules).

An application for legal aid made after the General Court has delivered the decision containing its ruling on the action in respect of which that application is made will not be taken into consideration.

5. Content of the application for legal aid and supporting documents

The legal aid form is intended to provide the General Court, in accordance with Article 147(3) and (4) of the Rules of Procedure, with the information required to give an effective decision on the application for legal aid. The information required concerns:

— the legal aid applicant's financial situation, and

— where the action has not yet been brought, the subject matter of that action, the facts of the case and the arguments relating thereto (point 201 of the Practice Rules).

(a) Financial situation of the applicant

The application for legal aid must be accompanied by all information and supporting documents making it possible to assess the applicant's financial situation, such as a certificate issued by a competent national authority attesting to his financial situation (Article 147(3) of the Rules of Procedure).

The applicant's financial capacity is assessed on the basis of evidence proving his lack of means:

— a natural person cannot therefore confine himself to providing the Court with information relating to his income but must also produce, for example, tax returns, proof of salary, certificates issued by social security or unemployment benefit authorities, bank statements and information making it possible to assess his capital (value of movable or immovable property);

— a legal person cannot simply rely on its inability to pay, but must provide information concerning the legal form of the entity, whether it is for-profit or not-for-profit, the financial capacity of its partner(s) or shareholders, and produce, for example, financial statements or any other document evidencing its accounts, and any evidence supporting a claim that it is insolvent, in receivership or administration, unable to meet its financial obligations or in liquidation.

Sworn statements made and signed by the applicant himself are not sufficient proof of lack of means.

The information given on the form concerning the applicant's financial situation and the documents lodged in support of the information provided should give a complete picture of the applicant's financial situation.

Applications which do not establish to the requisite legal standard the applicant's inability to meet the costs of the proceedings will be rejected.

(b) Subject matter of the proposed action

If the application for legal aid is lodged before the action to which it relates has been brought, the applicant must briefly state the subject matter of that action, the facts of the case and the arguments he proposes to put forward in support of the action. A section for that purpose is included in the legal aid form.

A copy of any supporting document that is relevant for the purposes of assessing whether the proposed action is admissible and well founded must be attached — for example, correspondence with the prospective defendant or, in the case of an action for annulment, the decision which is to be contested as to its lawfulness.

The duly completed legal aid form and supporting documents must be intelligible in themselves.

(c) Supplementary material

The application for legal aid may not be supplemented by the subsequent filing of additional material. Such material will be rejected, unless it has been lodged at the request of the Court. It is essential, therefore, to include all the necessary information on the form and to attach copies of any documentary proof of the information provided.

In exceptional cases, however, supporting documents intended to establish the applicant's lack of means may be accepted subsequently, subject to the delay in their production being adequately explained (point 205 of the Practice Rules).

6. Lodging of the application

(a) By the applicant himself

An applicant for legal aid who is not represented by a lawyer must send to or lodge at the Registry of the General Court the duly completed and signed paper version of the form, together with any supporting documents referred to. The Registry's address is as follows:

Registry of the General Court of the European Union Rue du Fort Niedergrünewald L-2925 Luxembourg

The form must be signed by hand by the applicant for legal aid (Article 147(6) of the Rules of Procedure and point 199 of the Practice Rules). Forms not bearing a handwritten signature will not be processed.

(b) By the applicant's lawyer

Where the applicant for legal aid is represented by a lawyer when the legal aid form is lodged, the lawyer must lodge the form by means of the e-Curia application, in compliance with the requirements contained in the Conditions of Use of e-Curia (point 200 of the Practice Rules).

7. Suspension and resumption of the time limit for bringing an action

The introduction of an application for legal aid suspends, for the person who made it, the time limit prescribed for the bringing of the action until the date of service of the order making a decision on that application or, where no lawyer is designated in that order to represent the applicant for legal aid, until the date of service of the order designating the lawyer instructed to represent the applicant (Article 147(7) of the Rules of Procedure).

The time limit for bringing an action does not run, therefore, while the application for legal aid is being examined by the Court.

After the order making a decision on the application for legal aid has been served or, if that order did not designate a lawyer to represent the applicant for legal aid, after the order designating the lawyer instructed to represent that applicant has been served, the remaining period within which the application initiating proceedings may be lodged may be very short. Recipients of legal aid who are duly represented by a lawyer are therefore advised to pay particular attention to compliance with the legal time limit (point 207 of the Practice Rules).

8. Additional information

Any originals of supporting documents lodged will not be returned. It is therefore advisable to submit photocopies of supporting documents.

(1) With the exception of those reserved to the Court of Justice by the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union.