Case T-300/01: Action brought on 7 December 2001 by Carlo De Nicola against European Investment Bank
Date: 2002-02-16
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Investment Bank, European official, action for annulment (EU), dismissal

C 44/24

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

16.2.2002

Action brought on 7 December 2001 by Carlo De Nicola
against European Investment Bank

(Case T-300/01)

(2002/C 44/43)

(Language of the case: Italian)

An action against the European Investment Bank was brought
before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities
on 7 December 2001 by Carlo De Nicola, represented by Luigi
Isola, lawyer.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the verbal dismissal of 6 September 2001 notified
to the applicant by Thomas Beckett, the director of the
Rome office, the subsequent dismissal served on the
applicant by letter received on 12 September 2001,
signed by the President of the European Investment
Bank (EIB), Philippe Maystadt, together with all other
consequent and related acts, including necessarily certain
articles of the Staff Regulations and the Code of Conduct,
in so far as the latter applies to the applicant;

— order the EIB to reinstate the applicant, restore his career
as from February 1999 and pay the remuneration due to
him in the meantime (together with interest) and pay the
costs of the proceedings and damages in the terms set out
below and to be further expounded in the course of
proceedings.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant in the present action, who is challenging his
dismissal by the defendant and the facts surrounding it, is the
same one as in T-7/98, T-208/98 and T-109/99 De Nicola v
EIB (1) and T-120/01 De Nicola v EIB (2).

In support of his arguments, the applicant claims:

— that

the Code of Conduct does not apply to him,
inasmuch as it is a unilateral act drawn up and issued
solely by the employer, not being required by the
individual contract of employment or by the Staff Regu-
lations;

— implied refusal to initiate disciplinary proceedings, in that
it was only by letter of 13 June 2001 that the President
of the EIB informed the applicant of the misconduct and
infringements alleged against him, dating back to 1998.
Such delay moreover is in breach of the employee’s rights
of defence;

— that the Disciplinary Board was irregularly constituted.
The applicant claims in that respect that Article 40 of the
Staff Regulations is unlawful inasmuch as it does not
provide in any event for the substitution of the Head of
Personnel, despite the existence of a dispute between him
and the applicant, and inasmuch as there is no provision
requiring a quorum of 4 voting members;

— infringement of the procedure provided for in Article 40

of the Staff Regulations;

— irregularity of the verbal dismissal of 6 September 2001,
inasmuch as such dismissal is not provided for by any
Community or other provision, and it was moreover
intimated by the Director of the Rome office, whereas the
Staff Regulations accords this power only to the President
of the EIB;

— irregularity of the dismissal of 12 September 2001. The
applicant points out in that respect that the misconduct
leading to the disciplinary measure is certainly not held
to be serious since the President, by virtue of Article 39
of the Staff Regulations, could have immediately sus-
pended the official. Furthermore, the defendant made
hardly any mention of specific times and places nor
adduced evidence of the misconduct but instead sought
to dismiss him for failure to cooperate during the
disciplinary proceedings despite his never having been
accused of such failure.

(1) Judgment of 23 February 2001 ECR-SC 2001 I-A-49, II-185.
(2) OJ 2001 C 227, p. 30.

Action brought on 30 November 2001 by Alitalia —
Linee aeree italiane S.p.A. against the Commission of the
European Communities

(Case T-301/01)

(2002/C 44/44)

(Language of the case: Italian)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the