Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 28 April 2017 —

HN v Commission

(Case T‑588/16)

(Civil Service — Officials — Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1023/2013 — Reform of the Staff Regulations — New career rules and rules for promotion to grades AD 13 and AD 14 — Officials of grade AD 12 — Exercise of particular responsibilities — Article 30(3) of Annex XIII to the Staff Regulations — Promotion year 2014 — Request to be categorised in the type of post ‘Adviser or equivalent’ — Lack of response from the Appointing Authority — Promotion year 2015 — Fresh request to be categorised in the type of post ‘Adviser or equivalent’ or ‘Head of unit or equivalent’ — Rejected by the Appointing Authority — Confirmatory nature of the refusal of categorisation in the type of post ‘Adviser or equivalent’ — Requirements related to the pre-litigation procedure — Inadmissibility)

1. Officials — Actions — Prior administrative complaint — Time-limits — Mandatory — Claim barred by lapse of time — Re-opening by a request within the meaning of Article 90(1) of the Staff Regulations — Precluded (Staff Regulations, Arts 90 and 91) (see paras 36-38)

2. Actions brought by officials — Prior administrative complaint — Time-limits — Complaint lodged out of time — Decision to classify an official in a type of post introduced by Regulation No 1023/2013 and having come into being by a modification made in the computerised personal file of the person concerned — Complaint directed against non-inclusion of the person concerned in the list of officials eligible for promotion — Inadmissibility (Staff Regulations, Arts 90(2), and 91(1), and Annexes I, section A, point 1, and XIII, Art. 30(2); European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1023/2013) (see paras 39-43)

3. Actions brought by officials — Prior administrative complaint — Distinction from a request under Article 90(1) of the Staff Regulations — Distinction a matter for assessment by the court (Staff Regulations, Art. 90(1) and (2)) (see para. 45)

4. Actions brought by officials — Acts adversely affecting an official — Concept — Purely confirmatory act — Not included (Staff Regulations, Arts 90(2), and 91(1)) (see para. 51)

5. Officials — Careers — Introduction of transitional rules accompanying passage from the old to the new system of officials’ careers — Rules for classification in types of post — Classification of officials of grades AD 9 to AD 14 carrying out particular responsibilities in the type of post ‘Head of unit or equivalent’ or ‘Adviser or equivalent’ — Option of the appointing authority to use the said derogatory regime or not (Staff Regulations, Annex XIII, Art. 30(3); European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1023/2013) (see paras 77, 78)

6. Actions brought by officials — Interest in bringing proceedings — No personal adverse effects or vested and current interests — Inadmissibility (Staff Regulations, Art. 91(1)) (see para. 90)

Re:

APPLICATION on the basis of Article 270 TFEU seeking in particular the annulment of ‘the decision rejecting the [applicant’s] request to be regarded as exercising particular responsibilities giving rise to his categorisation in the type of post [of] “Adviser or equivalent” under Article 30(3) of Annex XIII of the [new] Staff Regulations’ and Decision SEC(2013) 691 of 18 December 2013, entitled ‘Communication to the Commission amending the Rules governing the composition of the Members’ Cabinets and the Spokespersons’.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;