Keywords

Summary



Keywords

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1. Privileges and immunities of the European Communities ° Attachment order issued against an institution ° Need for lifting of immunity by the Court or waiver by the institution concerned

(Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities, Art. 1)

2. Non-contractual liability ° Conditions ° Non-compliance with an attachment order under national law ° Immunity not lifted by the Court or waived ° Excluded

(EEC Treaty, Art. 215, second para.; Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities, Art. 1)

3. International agreements ° First ACP-EEC Lomé Convention ° Provisions relating to financial and technical cooperation ° Procedure for awarding public contracts for works and supplies ° Respective roles of the ACP State and the Commission ° Competence of the ACP State to conclude contracts ° Liability of the Community by reason of payment of funds, under the conditions prescribed, to the ACP State concerned ° Excluded

(EEC Treaty, Art. 215, second para.; First ACP-EEC Lomé Convention of 28 February 1975)

Summary

1. Pursuant to Article 1 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities, the property and assets of the Communities may not be the subject of any administrative or legal measure of constraint without the authorization of the Court of Justice. It follows that immunity is automatic and, in the absence of the authorization of the Court, prevents the execution of any measure of constraint against the Communities, there being no need for the Community institution concerned to rely expressly on the aforesaid provision, in particular by giving notice to the person who obtained the attachment. It is for the latter to seek authorization from the Court to waive immunity unless the institution concerned states that it has no objection to the measure of constraint.

It follows that the possibility of obtaining the issue of an attachment order under national law is suspended until the immunity of the Communities is lifted either by waiver on the part of the institution concerned or by authorization by the Court, irrespective of any time-limit laid down by national law.

2. In the context of the non-contractual liability of the Community, an institution may not be charged with failure to comply with an attachment order under national law as long as it has not expressly waived its immunity or as long as immunity is not lifted by the Court, since the immunity it pleads is designed precisely to prevent enforcement of the order.

3. In accordance with the procedure for awarding public works and supplies contracts in the context of financial and technical cooperation set up by the First ACP-EEC Convention, public contracts funded by the European Development Fund remain national contracts, with the result that subcontractors or persons awarded contracts have legal relations only with the ACP State responsible for the contract. Since the action taken by the Commission is only intended to determine whether the conditions of Community financing are fulfilled, the payment of funds by the Commission to the State concerned in compliance with the conditions prescribed cannot constitute wrongful conduct such as to give rise to liability on the part of the Community.