Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 6 February 2019 –

Karp v Parliament

(Case T‑580/17)

(Civil service — Members of the contract staff — Classification — Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations — Premature complaint — Failure to follow the pre-litigation procedure — Inadmissibility — Autonomy of remedies — Non-renewal of a contract as a member of the auxiliary contract staff covering maternity leave — Obligation to state reasons — Successive fixed-term contracts — Abuse of rights — Right to be heard — Liability)

1. Actions brought by officials — Actions for damages — Autonomy in relation to the action for annulment — Existence of a decision-making act having adverse effects — Possibility of bringing an action for damages without a request to cancel the act (Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 90 and 91) (see paras 35-39)

2. Actions brought by officials — Prior administrative complaint — Time limit for bringing proceedings — Calculation (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 90(2); Council Regulation No 1182/71, Art. 3(4)) (see para. 42)

3. Officials — Non-contractual liability of the institutions — Conditions — Unlawfulness — Harm — Causal link — Cumulative conditions (see para. 47)

4. Officials — Members of the contract staff — Recruitment — Non-renewal of a fixed-term contract — Obligation to state reasons — None — Exception — Decision rejecting the request of a staff member seeking the renewal of his fixed-term contract (Staff Regulations of Officials, Arts 25, second para. and 90(1)) (see paras 51, 52)

5. Officials — Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union — Measures to prevent abuse of successive fixed-term contracts — Prohibition of using successive fixed-term contracts the object of which is the performance of permanent tasks on a long-term basis — Successive contracts for temporary tasks based on different legal bases — Lawfulness (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 1a(1); Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, Arts 2 to 5 and 88) (see paras 64-69, 76)

6. Officials — Members of the contract staff — Recruitment — Renewal of a fixed-term contract — Administration’s discretion — Administration’s duty to have regard for the interests of officials — Taking into consideration of the interests of the staff member concerned and those of the service — Scope (Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, Arts 2 and 3a) (see paras 81-83)

7. Officials — Members of the contract staff — Recruitment — Non-renewal of a fixed-term contract — Decision adopted without first giving the interested party the opportunity to comment — No application for renewal by the interested party — Infringement of the right to be heard — None (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(2)) (see paras 87-92)

Re:

Application on the basis of Article 270 TFEU and seeking, first, annulment of the European Parliament’s decision classifying the applicant in function group II, at grade 4, step 1, under the contract as a member of the contract staff signed on 12 May 2016 and which expired on 11 November 2016 and, secondly, compensation in respect of the material and non-material harm which the applicant has allegedly suffered on account of his classification and the non-renewal of his contract.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;