Joined Cases T‑14/14 and T‑87/14

Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and Others

v

Council of the European Union

(Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures taken against Iran with the aim of preventing nuclear proliferation — Freezing of funds — Plea of illegality — Legal basis — Misuse of powers — Rights of the defence — Legitimate expectations — Legal certainty — Ne bis in idem — Res judicata — Proportionality — Manifest error of assessment — Fundamental rights)

Summary — Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber), 17 February 2017

Judicial proceedings — Absolute bar to proceeding — To be considered of the Court’s own motion (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 129)

Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against Iran — Decision to freeze funds — Judicial review of legality — Scope — Article 1(2) of Decision 2013/497 — Not included (Art. 29 TEU; Arts 256(1) TFEU, 263, fourth para., TFEU and 275, second para., TFEU; Council Decisions 2010/413/CFSP, Art. 20(1)(b), and 2013/497/CFSP, Art. 1(2))

Judicial proceedings — Introduction of new pleas during the proceedings — Plea raised for the first time at the reply stage — Inadmissibility (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 84(1))

Actions for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Council Regulations adopted in the context of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and providing for restrictive measures against Iran — Acts not comprising implementing measures within the meaning of Article 263, fourth paragraph, TFEU — Person concerned not affected directly and individually — Inadmissibility (Arts 256(1) TFEU and 263, fourth para., TFEU; Council Regulations No 267/2012, Art. 23(2)(e), and No 971/2013, Art. 1(c))

Plea of illegality — Scope — Measures the illegality of which may be pleaded — General measure providing the basis of the contested decision — Need for a legal connection between the contested measure and the contested general measure (Arts 263 TFEU and 277 TFEU)

Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against Iran — Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies engaged in or supporting nuclear proliferation — Prohibition on the acquisition of arms and related material from Iran — Lawfulness — No breach of principle of proportionality (Council Decisions 2010/413/CFSP and 2013/497/CFSP; Council Regulations No 267/2012 and No 971/2013)

Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against Iran — Freezing of funds of entities held or controlled by an entity recognised as participating in nuclear proliferation — Restriction of the right to property and the free exercise of an economic activity — No breach of principle of proportionality (Council Regulation No 423/2007, Art. 7(2)(a), (b) and (d))

Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against Iran — Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies engaged in or supporting nuclear proliferation — Acts instituting restrictive measures to be applied to entities owned or controlled by an entity covered by the freezing of funds — Annulment, for non-compliance with the general listing criteria, of the restrictive measures covering that latter entity — EU judicature able to suspend the effects of the annulment to allow rectification of the defects found (Council Decisions 2010/413/CFSP and 2013/497/CFSP; Council Regulations No 267/2012 and No 971/2013)

Actions for annulment — Grounds — Misuse of powers — Concept

EU law — Principles — Rights of defence — Right to effective judicial protection — Restrictive measures against Iran — Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies engaged in or supporting nuclear proliferation — No right to be heard prior to the adoption of such measures (Art. 29 TEU; Art. 215 TFEU; Council Decision 2013/497/CFSP; Council Regulation No 971/2013)

European Union — Judicial review of the legality of the acts of the institutions — Restrictive measures against Iran — Measures in the context of the fight against nuclear proliferation — Ambit of the review (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decisions 2013/497/CFSP and 2010/413/CFSP; Council Regulations No 267/2012 and No 971/2013)

Judicial proceedings — Burden of proof — Documentary evidence — Probative value — Assessment by the EU judicature — Criteria (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 85)

EU law — Principles — Rights of defence — Right to effective judicial protection — Restrictive measures against Iran — Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies engaged in or supporting nuclear proliferation — Obligation to communicate new inculpatory evidence — Scope (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; Council Decision 2013/497/CFSP; Council Regulation No 971/2013)

Actions for annulment — Judgment annulling a measure — Scope — Absolute authority of res judicata — Scope (Art. 266 TFEU)

EU law — Principles — Protection of legitimate expectations — Conditions — Specific assurances given by the authorities

EU law — Principles — Legal certainty — EU rules — Requirements of clarity and foreseeability

Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against Iran — Freezing of funds of persons, entities or bodies engaged in or supporting nuclear proliferation — Nature of those measures — Purely protective measures — No criminal character — No infringement of the ne bis in idem principle (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 50)

EU law — Principles — Equal treatment — Concept (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 20 and 21)