Case C-18/04 P: Appeal brought on 16 January 2004 by Mr G. Krikorian, Mrs S. Krikorian (née Tatoyan) and the Euro-Armenia Association against the order made on 17 December 2003 by the First Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities in Case T-346/03 G. Krikorian and Others v Parliament, Council and Commission and against the order made on 17 December 2003 by the President of the Court of First Instance in Case T-346/03 R G. Krikorian and Others v Parliament, Council and Commission between G. Krikorian and Others and the Parliament, the Council and the Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2004-04-17
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Armenian question, European Commission, Türkiye, accession to the European Union, action for annulment (EU), crime against humanity

C 94/18

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

17.4.2004

Appeal brought on 16 January 2004 by Mr G. Krikorian,
Mrs S. Krikorian (née Tatoyan) and the Euro-Armenia
Association against the order made on 17 December 2003
by the First Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities in Case T-346/03 G. Krikorian and
Others v Parliament, Council and Commission and against
the order made on 17 December 2003 by the President of
the Court of First
Instance in Case T-346/03 R G.
Krikorian and Others v Parliament, Council and Commis-
sion between G. Krikorian and Others and the Parliament,
the Council and the Commission of the European Commu-
nities

(Case C-18/04 P)

(2004/C 94/37)

An appeal against the order made on 17 December 2003 by
the First Chamber of the Court of First Instance in Case T-346/
03 (G. Krikorian and Others v Parliament, Council and Commission)
and against the order made on 17 December 2003 by the
President of the Court of First Instance in case T-346/03 R (G.
Krikorian and Others v Parliament, Council and Commission)
between G. Krikorian and Others and the Parliament,
the
Council and the Commission of the European Communities
was brought before the Court of
the European
Communities on 16 January 2004 by Mr G. Krikorian, Mrs S.
Krikorian (née Tatoyan) and the Euro-Armenia Association.

Justice of

the appellants, has
origin and thus on the part of
binding legal force with regard to the European Com-
munity;

(b) hold that by their complete failure to draw political and
legal consequences from the abovementioned resolution,
the European Parliament, the Council of the European
Union and the Commission of the European Commu-
nities have committed a sufficiently serious infringement
of Community law, which is to the detriment of the
appellants;

(c) order the three abovementioned Community institutions
jointly and severally liable to pay each of the appellants
the sum of EUR 1 (one euro) by way of damages in
respect of the non-pecuniary damage caused to them by
that infringement of Community law, attributable to the
Community institutions; In the alternative,

Having set aside the two contested orders in their entirety:

4. refer the case back to the Court of First Instance for adjudi-

cation;

5. hold that

the Court of First

Instance will be bound as
regards any points of law decided by the Court of Justice
and, in particular, as regards the binding legal force, for the
defendant institutions, of the European Parliament's resolu-
tion of 18 June 1987, which gave rise to a legitimate expec-
tation on the part of the appellants that the Community
institutions would adhere to the terms of that resolution;

The appellants claim that the Court should:

In any event,

1. set aside in its entirety the order made on 17 December
2003 and notified by registered letter received on 6 January
2004, by which the Court of First Instance of the European
Communities (First Chamber), in Case T-346/03 G. Krikorian
and Others v Parliament, Council and Commission, dismissed,
pursuant to Article 111 of its Rules of Procedure, the appel-
lants' action for damages on the ground that it was mani-
festly lacking any foundation in law;

2. set aside in its entirety the order made on 17 December
2003 and notified by registered letter received on 6 January
2004, by which the President of the Court of First Instance,
in Case T-346/03 G. Krikorian and Others v Parliament,
Council and Commission, held that as a consequence there
was no longer any need to adjudicate on the application for
interim measures;

3. allow all the forms of order claimed at first instance and, as

a consequence:

(a) declare that the Resolution of 18 June 1987 by which
the European Parliament acknowledged the historic
reality of the Armenian genocide – perpetrated by the
‘Young Turk’ Government in 1915 against 1 500 000
innocent Armenian victims – and considered modern
Turkey's failure to acknowledge it an insurmountable
obstacle to consideration of Turkey's accession to the
European Union, an act giving rise to legitimate expecta-
tions on the part of European citizens of Armenian

6. order the Community institutions jointly and severally to

pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

— Procedural irregularities which have prejudiced the appel-

lants' interests:

1.

2.

in dismissing the appellants' action for damages, the
Court of First Instance infringed Article 111 of its Rules
of Procedure;

Instance infringed Article 87(3) of

in ordering the appellants to pay the costs, the Court of
its Rules of
First
Procedure, and its order is also vitiated by inadequate
reasoning;

3. consideration of the contested order further shows an
infringement of Articles 6(1) and 13 of the European
Convention on Human Rights and Article 1 of the First
Protocol thereto, as well as a breach of the principle of
effective judicial protection;

— Infringement of Community law: in making the contested
order, the Court of First Instance infringed the principles of
the protection of legitimate expectations, of legal certainty
and of acquired rights.