Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 22 January 2015 — Ocean Capital Administration and Others v Council

(Joined Cases T‑420/11 and T‑56/12)

‛Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against Iran with the aim of preventing nuclear proliferation — Freezing of funds — Res judicata — Consequence of an annulment of restrictive measures for the entity owned or controlled by an entity identified as being involved in nuclear proliferation — Temporal effects of an annulment’

1. Actions for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Restrictive measures taken against Iran in the context of the fight against nuclear proliferation — Decision reviewing the list of persons, groups or entities concerned and supplementing the list without repealing the earlier decision — Action brought by a person not referred to in that decision — Admissibility (Art. 263, fourth para., TFEU; Council Decision 2011/783/CFSP; Council Regulation No 1245/2011) (see paras 32-35)

2. Judicial proceedings — Measures repealing and replacing the contested measure in the course of proceedings — Application to amend pleas for annulment formulated in the course of the proceedings — Time-limit for the submission of such an application — Point from which time starts to run — Date of communication of the new measure to the parties concerned (Art. 263, sixth para., TFEU; Council Regulation No 267/2012) (see paras 36, 37)

3. Actions for annulment — Judgment annulling a measure — Scope — Absolute authority of res judicata — Scope — Account to be taken of both the reasoning and the operative part, including in the case of partial annulment (see paras 44-46)

4. Judicial proceedings — Introduction of new pleas during the proceedings — Conditions — New factor — Concept (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 48(2)) (see paras 48, 49)

5. Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures taken against Iran — Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies engaged in or supporting nuclear proliferation — Obligation to extend that measure to entities owned or controlled by such an entity — Judgment annulling the restrictive measures concerning such an entity — Scope — Annulment of restrictive measures concerning entities held or controlled by such an entity — Restrictive measures arising from acts distinct from those forming the subject-matter of annulling judgment but based on the same circumstances — Included (Council Decisions 2011/299/CFSP and 2011/783/CFSP; Council Regulations No 503/2011, No 1245/2011 and No 267/2012) (see paras 59-68)

6. Actions for annulment — Judgment annulling a measure — Effects — Partial annulment of a regulation and a decision on the adoption of restrictive measures against Iran — Annulment of regulation to take effect only as from the date of expiry of the period for bringing an appeal or from the date of dismissal of the appeal — Application of that period to when the annulment of the decision is to take effect (Arts 264, second para., TFEU and 280 TFEU; Statute of the Court, Arts 56, first para., and 60, second para.; Council Decision 2010/413/CFSP, as amended by Decisions 2011/299/CFSP and 2011/783/CFSP; Council Regulation No 267/2012) (see paras 75-77)

Re:

APPLICATIONS, in Case T‑420/11, for the annulment of Council Decision 2011/299/CFSP of 23 May 2011 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2011 L 136, p. 65), of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 503/2011 of 23 May 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010 on restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2011 L 136, p. 26) and of Council Regulation (EU) No 267/2012 of 23 March 2012 concerning restrictive measures against Iran and repealing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010 (OJ 2012 L 88, p. 1) in so far as those measures concern the applicants, and, in Case T‑56/12, for the annulment of Council Decision 2011/783/CFSP of 1 December 2011 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2011 L 319, p. 71), of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1245/2011 of 1 December 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010 on restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2011 L 319, p. 11) and of Regulation No 267/2012 in so far as those measures concern the applicants.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Annuls, in so far as they concern Ocean Capital Administration GmbH and the other applicants whose names appear in the annex to this judgment: — Council Decision 2011/299/CFSP of 23 May 2011 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran; — Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 503/2011 of 23 May 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010 on restrictive measures against Iran; — Council Regulation (EU) No 267/2012 of 23 March 2012 concerning restrictive measures against Iran and repealing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010;

2. Annuls, in so far as they concern IRISL Maritime Training Institute, Kheibar Co., Kish Shipping Line Manning Co. and IRISL Multimodal Transport Co.: — Council Decision 2011/783/CFSP of 1 December 2011 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran; — Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1245/2011 of 1 December 2011 implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2010 on restrictive measures against Iran; — Regulation No 267/2012;

3. Declares that the effects of Council Decision 2010/413/CFSP of 26 July 2010 concerning restrictive measures against Iran and repealing Common Position 2007/140/CFSP, as amended by Decision 2011/299 and Decision 2011/783, are maintained as regards, on the one hand, Ocean Capital Administration and the other applicants whose names appear in the annex to this judgment and, on the other hand, IRISL Maritime Training Institute, Kheibar, Kish Shipping Line Manning and IRISL Multimodal Transport, until the annulment of Regulation No 267/2012 takes effect;