The rights of the defence, as henceforth enshrined in Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which is of general application, include, while being more extensive, the procedural right provided for in paragraph 2(a) of that article, of every person to be heard, before any individual measure which would affect him or her adversely is taken.

Thus, the right to be heard, which must be safeguarded even where there are no applicable rules, requires that the person concerned must have been afforded the opportunity effectively to make known his views on any information against him which might have been taken into account in the measure to be adopted.

In the matter of contract renewal, as the Authority empowered to conclude contracts of employment (AECE) is under no obligation under the Staff Regulations to avail itself of the option, provided for in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities (CEOS), to extend the contract of employment of a member of staff or to inform the relevant staff member within any fixed period of its intentions in that regard, no implied decision waiving that option can be attributed to the AECE on the date of expiry of the contract.

In order for there to be a decision of the AECE on the renewal of a contract, it must have been the result of a review by the AECE of the interest of the service and that of the staff member concerned and the AECE must have made a fresh assessment by reference to the terms of the initial contract containing at the outset the date on which the contract is to end.

However, when a member of staff, in their capacity as a person covered by the Staff Regulations, submits a request for renewal of his contract of employment pursuant to Article 90(1) of the Staff Regulations before the expiry of that contract or when the institution provides in its internal rules for the use in due time before the expiry of the contract of a member of staff of a specific procedure for renewal of that contract, then, at the end of such a procedure or in response to such a request under the Staff Regulations, a decision on renewal of the contract of the person concerned must be deemed to have been adopted by the AECE and, inasmuch as the decision adversely affects the person concerned, that person must have been heard by the AECE before the adoption of that decision which, moreover, must contain a statement of reasons as required by Article 25 of the Staff Regulations, which is applicable by analogy to members of the contract staff for auxiliary tasks by virtue of Article 92 of the CEOS.

In the situation in which the AECE decides, in so far as such an option is provided for in the CEOS, not to avail itself of its option under the CEOS to extend the contract of employment of a member of staff, such a decision not to renew can be adopted only once the person concerned has been able duly to put forward their point of view, which may be a simple announcement by the AECE of its intention and its reasons for not availing itself of that option, as part of a written or verbal exchange, which may even be brief. That exchange must be initiated by the AECE, which bears the burden of proof.

In that regard, the principle of observance of the rights of the defence is particularly important where, as in the present case, the decision not to renew the appellant’s contract of service was adopted against a background of poor personal relations, whilst bearing in mind that the question whether there has been infringement of the right to be heard must be determined having regard to, inter alia, the legal rules governing the matter in question.

(see paras 59, 60, 149, 150, 152-154)