Case T-19/03: Action brought on 22 January 2003 by Spyridoula Konstantopoulou against Court of Justice of the European Communities
Date: 2003-04-05
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: Court of Justice of the European Union, action for annulment (EU), administrative competition, competition (EU), equal treatment, legal profession

5.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 83/21

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant is an official of the Commission. She was
assigned to Cadarache and then reassigned to Brussels. The
applicant challenged the decision to reassign her in Case
T-355/01, which resulted in a settlement being reached with
the Commission and in the applicant’s being seconded to
Cadarache. However, the Commission took the view that the
applicant had received the weighting for France and the
expatriation allowance without being entitled to do so. The
applicant was also deprived of the ‘secretarial allowance’ and
of the fixed allowance for travelling expenses.

In support of her action, the applicant claims that there has
been an infringement of Articles 59 and 64 of the Staff
Regulations and Article 4 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations
and an infringement of Article 71 of the Staff Regulations and
Articles 5 to 10 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations. The
applicant also claims that there has been a breach of the
obligation to state reasons and an infringement of the principle
of non-discrimination.

In the alternative, as regards the weighting for France and the
expatriation allowance, the applicant claims that there has
been an infringement of Article 85 of the Staff Regulations.
The applicant also claims that there has been an infringement
of Article 4a of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, an
infringement of the general principle that an institution must
comply with the rules which it itself has made and a breach of
the obligation to state reasons as regards the secretarial
allowance.

Last, the applicant claims that there has been an infringement
of the general principle of sound management and good
administration and a breach of the duty to have regard for the
welfare of officials.

— award EUR 1 000 by way of damages as compensation
for non-material damage, that amount being fixed ex
aequo et bono;

— order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

By his action the applicant, an official of the Commission,
challenges the validity of his staff report for the period 1995-
1997 and claims damages for the faults allegedly committed
by the Commission in preparing that report.

He claims that the report infringes Article 43 of the Staff
Regulations and the provisions of the Guide to Staff Reports.
Thus, notwithstanding the opinion of the Joint Committee
on Staff Reports pointing out significant procedural and
substantive irregularities, the appeal assessor did not find it
necessary to correct them. In addition, that the report was
completed after an unreasonable period of time was the
Commission’s fault alone. Similarly, the assessors systemati-
cally refused to hold a prior interview with the applicant as
provided for by the Guide to Staff Reports. Furthermore, the
quite irregular drafting of the report reflected a more general
‘mobbing’ attitude from which the applicant had suffered for
some years.

The applicant claims that the very negative assessments in his
report are clearly unfounded and that the Commission has
failed in its duty to have regard for the interests of officials and
has failed to observe the principle of sound administration.

Action brought on 13 January 2003 by Albano Ferrer de
Moncada against Commission of the European Communi-
ties

(Case T-16/03)

(2003/C 83/48)

(Language of the case: French)

An action against Commission of the European Communities
was brought before the Court of First Instance of the European
Communities on 13 January 2003 by Albano Ferrer de
Moncada, residing in Luxembourg, represented by Georges
Vandersanden, Laure Levi and Aurore Finchelstein, lawyers.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul his staff report for the reference period 1995-1997;

Action brought on 22 January 2003 by Spyridoula Kon-
stantopoulou against Court of Justice of the European
Communities

(Case T-19/03)

(2003/C 83/49)

(Language of the case: French)

An action against the Court of
the European
Communities was brought before the Court of Justice of the
European Communities on 22 January 2003 by Spyridoula
Konstantopoulou, residing in Ioannina (Greece), represented
by Eric Boigelot, lawyer.

Justice of

C 83/22

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

5.4.2003

The applicant claims that the Court should:

Action brought on 21 January 2003 by ‘S’ against the
Commission of the European Communities

— annul the decision of the selection board of 23 October
2002 not to admit the applicant to the oral test in general
competition CJ/LA/14;

— annul the express rejection of the complaint lodged by
the applicant as notified on 9 November 2003 by letter
from Marc Ronayne;

— in any event, order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant, a candidate in general competition CJ/LA/14,
organised by the Court of Justice with a view to constituting a
reserve list of Greek-language lawyer-linguists, objects to not
being admitted to the oral test for having failed to obtain the
minimum requisite marks in the first compulsory written
paper (translation of a legal text drafted in French).

In support of her arguments, the applicant alleges:

— failure to observe the duty to state reasons. The applicant
claims in that regard that the selection board cannot rely
on the secrecy of its deliberations in order not to fulfil
the obligation to give reasons to a candidate who requests
them;

— irregularities in the conduct of the tests in the competition
and breach of the principle of equality as between the
candidates in that, in view of the system for preserving
the anonymity of the candidates, the applicant is justified
in wondering whether the written test script attributed to
her when the tests were being marked is indeed hers. That
method for ensuring anonymity, which she describes as
unusual, constitutes, furthermore, a substantive irregu-
larity.

— infringement of the competition notice and of Article 5
of Annex III to the Staff Regulations; manifest error of
assessment. The applicant states in that respect that the
purpose of the test in question was to assess whether
each of the candidates had perfect command of Greek
and good knowledge of French on the basis of objective
criteria which were identical for each of the candidates.

(Case T-21/03)

(2003/C 83/50)

(Language of the case: French)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 21 January 2003 by S, represented
by Albert Coolen,
Jean-Noël Louis and Étienne Marchal,
lawyers, with an address for service in Luxembourg.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— Annul the decision of 11 March 2002 of the Head of the
‘Occupational disease and accident
insurance’ sector
rejecting the applicant’s request to have removed from
the file forwarded to the medical officer all reports drawn
up to her knowledge relating to her ability, efficiency and
conduct;

— order the defendant to withdraw from the file forwarded
to the medical officer the originals of the reports in
question, send them to the applicant and destroy all
copies;

— order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant in these proceedings objects to all the reports
relating to her ability, efficiency and conduct, which have to
her knowledge been drawn up, not placed in her personal file
and communicated to the defendant’s medical officer, being
made available to the medical committee called upon to give a
decision on her case in response to a request for her illness to
be recognised as occupational in origin.

In support of her claims, the applicant alleges infringement of
her right to a fair hearing and of Articles 26 and 43 of the
Staff Regulations.