Keywords

Summary



Keywords

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1. Applications for interim relief ° Conditions for admissibility ° Assessment in the case of an application for protection against future damage which might be serious and irreparable

2. Applications for interim relief ° Powers of the Court when dealing with such applications ° Issue of interim directions ° Reminder to comply with existing rules

(EC Treaty, Art. 186; Statute (EC) of the Court of Justice, Art. 36)

3. Applications for interim relief ° Interim measures ° Conditions for granting ° Prima facie case ° Serious and irreparable damage ° Honour and professional reputation of an official called into question through the dissemination of information by colleagues without an appropriate response from the institution concerned ° Reminder by the Court of the institution' s duty to stop such dissemination ° Need for periodic penalty ° None

(Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance, Art. 104(2))

Summary

1. An application by an official for interim measures under Article 186 of the Treaty which is connected with a separate claim for compensation in respect of damage which the applicant claims to have suffered following acts which, prima facie, are not capable of being challenged in an action for annulment, and which seeks to prevent future damage, should not be dismissed by the Court as inadmissible even if there may be doubts as to the admissibility of the main action because the pre-litigation procedure required by the Staff Regulations of Officials was not followed.

The fact that an applicant may have failed to follow the pre-litigation administrative procedure should not in any event deprive him of the possibility of obtaining a measure to prevent future damage which might be serious and irreparable, since, in the Community system governing contentious proceedings, the purpose of the interim relief procedure is precisely to allow provisional measures justified on grounds of urgency to be adopted immediately, as is confirmed by the fact that, under Article 91(4) of the Staff Regulations, an action may be brought before the pre-litigation procedure is exhausted when such action is accompanied by an application for interim measures.

2. Article 186 of the Treaty confers jurisdiction on the Community judicature to prescribe any necessary interim measures, thereby allowing the Court to resort to various forms of intervention to meet the specific requirements of each case.

Under Article 36 of the Statute (EC) of the Court of Justice, such jurisdiction includes not only the power to issue provisional directions not in any way prejudicing the decision of the Court on the substance of the case but also the power simply to remind a party to comply with existing rules, since such a reminder may be an appropriate remedy, complying with the principles which govern the procedure for interim relief and capable of provisionally ensuring appropriate protection of the applicant' s rights.

3. Where it is undisputed that much information and comment emanating from officials, whose identity is in principle unknown, has been published in the press, and that such information and comment concerns the personality, health and professional qualifications of one of their colleagues, and it is also undisputed that the institution in question has not yet adopted any measure for preventing such leakage of information, the Court must, since such information may, by tarnishing the applicant' s honour and professional reputation, cause him damage which is both serious and irreparable, remind the institution concerned to take all necessary measures to ensure that no information concerning the career, personality, opinions or health of the person concerned, likely directly or indirectly to harm his personal and professional reputation, is disclosed by its staff in contacts with the press or in any other manner.

However, in the absence of any evidence that the institution will not discharge its obligations towards the person concerned in accordance with the terms of the interim order, there is no cause to impose a periodic penalty designed to pressurize the institution.