Practice Directions to Parties
Date: 2007-07-05
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: General Court (EU), administrative procedure, information processing, member of the Court of Justice (EU), operation of the Institutions

4.9.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 232/7

PRACTICE DIRECTIONS TO PARTIES

THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

— by e-mail (e-mail address: CFI.Registry@curia.europa.eu).

Having regard to Article 150 of its Rules of Procedure;

Whereas:

It is in the interests of the efficient conduct of proceedings before
the Court of First Instance (‘the Court’) and the expeditious
processing of cases that practice directions should be issued to
the lawyers and agents of parties, dealing with the manner in
which pleadings and other procedural documents relating to the
written procedure are to be submitted and how best to prepare
for the hearing before the Court;

The present directions reflect, explain and complement provi-
sions in the Court's Rules of Procedure and are designed to
enable lawyers and agents to allow for the constraints under
which the Court operates, and particularly those attributable to
translation requirements and the electronic processing of
procedural documentation;

The Instructions to the Registrar dated 5 July 2007 (OJ L 232,
4.9.2007, p. 1)(‘the Instructions to the Registrar’) require the
Registrar to ensure that documents placed on a case-file comply
with the provisions of the Statute of the Court of Justice, the
Rules of Procedure and these Practice Directions (‘the Practice
Directions’) together with the Instructions to the Registrar, and,
in particular, oblige him to require that any irregularities of form
in documents lodged be made good and,
in default of such
regularisation, that he refuse, where appropriate, to accept them
if they do not comply with the provisions of the Statute of the
Court of Justice or of the Rules of Procedure;

Compliance with the Practice Directions will assure lawyers and
agents that the pleadings and documents lodged by them may
properly be processed by the Court and will not, with respect to
the matters dealt with in the Practice Directions, entail the
application of Article 90(a) of the Rules of Procedure;

Following consultations with the representatives of the agents of
the Member States, of the institutions acting in proceedings
before the Court and of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of
Europe (CCBE);

2.
In the case of transmission by email, only a scanned copy
of the signed original will be accepted. A document despatched
in the form of an ordinary electronic file which is unsigned or
bears an electronic signature or a facsimile signature generated by
computer will not be treated as complying with Article 43(6) of
the Rules of Procedure. No correspondence relating to a case
which is received by the Court in the form of an ordinary email
message will be taken into consideration.

Scanned documents should ideally be scanned at a resolution of
300 dpi and submitted in PDF format (images and text) using
Acrobat or Readiris 7 Pro software.

3.
The lodgment of a document by fax or email will be
treated as complying with the relevant time-limit only if the
signed original of that document reaches the Registry prior to
the expiry of the period of 10 days following such lodgment, as
specified in Article 43(6) of the Rules of Procedure. The signed
original must be sent without delay,
immediately after the
despatch of the copy, without any corrections or amendments,
even of a minor nature, being made thereto. In the event of any
discrepancy between the signed original and the copy previously
lodged, only the date of lodgment of the signed original will be
taken into consideration.

4.
Where, in accordance with Article 44(2) of the Rules of
Procedure, a party consents to being served by fax or other
technical means of communication, the statement to that effect
must specify the fax number and/or the email address to which
the Registry may send that party documents to be served. The
recipient's computer must be equipped with suitable software
(for example, Acrobat or Readiris 7 Pro) enabling communica-
tions from the Registry, which will be transmitted in PDF format,
to be read.

B.

Lodgment of pleadings

The following information must appear on the first page

5.
of the pleading:

HEREBY DECIDES TO ADOPT THE FOLLOWING PRACTICE DIREC-
TIONS.

(a)

the pleading (application, defence,

the title of
reply,
rejoinder, application for leave to intervene, statement in
intervention, objection of inadmissibility, observations on
....., replies to questions, etc.);

I. WRITTEN PROCEDURE

A. Use of technical means of communication

(b)

the case number (T-.../..), where it has already been notified
by the Registry;

1.
A copy of the signed original of a procedural document
may be transmitted to the Registry in accordance with Arti-
cle 43(6) of the Rules of Procedure either:

(c)

the names of the applicant and of the defendant;

— by fax (to fax number: (352) 4303 2100), or

(d)

the name of the party on whose behalf the pleading is
lodged.

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6.

Each paragraph of the pleading must be numbered.

— 20 pages for an objection of inadmissibility and observa-

tions thereon,

7.
The original signature of the lawyer or agent acting for the
party concerned must appear at the end of the pleading. Where
more than one representative is acting for the party concerned,
the signature of one representative shall be sufficient.

8.
Pleadings lodged by the parties must be submitted in such
a way as to enable them to be processed electronically by the
Court,
in particular by means of document scanning and
character recognition.

In order to permit the use of such technology, the following
requirements should be complied with:

(a)

(b)

(c)

the paper must be white, unlined and A4 size, with the text
appearing on one side of the page only;

pages of pleadings and annexes,
if any, must be placed
together in such a way as to enable them to be easily
undone. They must not be bound together or fixed to each
other by any other means (e.g. glued or stapled);

the text must appear in characters of a current type (such as
Times New Roman, Courier or Arial), in at least 12 pt in the
body of the text and at least 10 pt in the footnotes, with
one-and-a-half line spacing and upper, lower, left and right
margins of at least 2,5 cm;

(d)

the pages of the pleading must be numbered consecutively
in the top right-hand corner.

— 20 pages for a statement in intervention and 15 pages for

observations thereon.

Those maxima may be exceeded only in cases
particularly complex legal or factual issues.

involving

D.

Form and content of the application and of the

defence/response

D.1. Direct actions

The Rules of Procedure

11.
contain provisions which
specifically govern proceedings relating to intellectual property
rights (Articles 130 to 136). The rules relating to applications
and responses lodged in the context of such proceedings (D.1.2)
are
relating to
applications and defences lodged in the context of any other
proceedings (D.1.1).

separately from those

therefore

set out

D.1.1. A p p l i c a t i o n a n d d e f e n c e

A p p l i c a t i o n i n i t i a t i n g p r o c e e d i n g s

12.
The information which is mandatory and must be
included in the application initiating proceedings is prescribed
under Article 44 of the Rules of Procedure.

For practical reasons, the following information must

13.
appear at the beginning of the application:

Where annexes to a pleading are produced,
they must be
paginated in accordance with the requirements at point 52 of the
Practice Directions.

(a)

the name and address of the applicant;

9.
Each copy of every procedural document required to be
produced by the parties pursuant to the second subparagraph of
Article 43(1) of the Rules of Procedure must be signed by the
lawyer or agent of the party concerned and certified by him as a
true copy of the original document.

C.

Length of pleadings

10.
Depending on the subject-matter and the circumstances
of the case, the maximum number of pages shall be as follows:

— 50 pages for the application and the defence,

— 20 pages for the application and responses in intellectual

property cases,

— 15 pages for the appeal and the response,

— 25 pages for the reply and the rejoinder,

(b)

the name and capacity of the applicant's lawyer or agent;

(c)

(d)

the identity of the party against whom the application is
made;

the statements referred to in Article 44(2) of the Rules of
Procedure (statement of an address for service and/or
agreement to service by technical means of communica-
tion).

The introductory part of

14.
the application should be
followed by a brief account of the facts giving rise to the dispute.

15.
Legal arguments should be set forth and grouped by
reference to the particular pleas in law to which they relate, and
ideally each argument or group of arguments should be preceded
by a summary statement of the relevant plea.

16.
The precise wording of the form of order sought by the
applicant must be stated either at the beginning or at the end of
the application.

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In the case of an action for annulment, a copy of the
17.
contested measure must be annexed to the application and
identified as such.

Points 15, 18 and 20 of the Practice Directions shall apply

25.
to the defence.

18.
The documents referred to in Article 44(3) and (5)(a) and
(b) of the Rules of Procedure must be produced together with the
application, but separately from the documents annexed in
support of the action.

Each application must be accompanied by a summary of
19.
the pleas in law and main arguments relied on, designed to
facilitate the drafting of the notice prescribed by Article 24(6) of
the Rules of Procedure, which will be prepared by the Registry.
The summary in question must not be more than two pages
long.

26.
Any fact alleged by the other party which is contested
must be specified and the basis on which it is contested expressly
stated.

D.1.2. A p p l i c a t i o n
p r o p e r t y c a s e s )

a n d

r e s p o n s e

( i n

i n t e l l e c t u a l

A p p l i c a t i o n i n i t i a t i n g p r o c e e d i n g s

27.
The information which is mandatory and must be
included in the application initiating proceedings is prescribed
under Articles 44 and 132(1) of the Rules of Procedure.

20.
All evidence offered in support must be expressly and
accurately indicated, in such a way as to show clearly the facts to
be proved:

For practical reasons, the following information must

28.
appear at the beginning of the application:

— documentary evidence offered in support must refer to the
in a schedule of annexed
relevant document number
in the
documents. Alternatively,
applicant's possession, the pleading must indicate how the
document may be obtained.

if a document

is not

— where oral testimony is sought to be given, each proposed
witness or person from whom information is to be
obtained must be clearly identified.

21.
If the application is lodged after the submission of an
application for legal aid, the effect of which, under Article 96(4)
of the Rules of Procedure, is to suspend the period prescribed for
the bringing of an action, this must be pointed out at the
beginning of the application initiating proceedings.

If the application is lodged after notification of the order making
a decision on an application for legal aid, reference must equally
be made in the application to the date on which the order was
served on the applicant.

D e f e n c e

22.
The information which is mandatory and must be
included in the defence is prescribed under Article 46(1) of the
Rules of Procedure.

23.
For practical reasons, in addition to the case-number and
the name of the applicant, the following information must be
included at the beginning of the defence:

(a)

the name and address of the defendant;

(a)

the name and address of the applicant;

(b)

the name and capacity of the applicant's lawyer;

(c)

(d)

the names of all parties to the proceedings before the Board
of Appeal and the addresses given by them for notification
purposes during those proceedings;

the statements referred to in Article 44(2) of the Rules of
Procedure (statement of an address for service and/or
agreement to service by technical means of communica-
tion).

29.
In the case of an action for annulment, a copy of the
contested measure must be annexed to the application and
identified as such. Reference must be made to the date on which
the decision was notified to the applicant.

Point 10, second indent, and points 14, 15, 16, 18, 20
30.
and 21 of the Practice Directions shall apply to applications in
intellectual property cases.

R e s p o n s e

31.
The information which is mandatory and must be
included in the response is prescribed under Article 46(1) of
the Rules of Procedure.

32.
In addition to the case-number and the name of the
applicant, the following must appear at the beginning of the
response:

(b)

the name and capacity of the defendant's lawyer or agent;

(a)

the name and address of the defendant or of the intervener;

(c)

the statements referred to in Article 44(2) of the Rules of
Procedure (statement of an address for service and/or
agreement to service by technical means of communica-
tion).

24.
The precise wording of the form of order sought by the
defendant must be stated either at the beginning or at the end of
the defence.

(b)

(c)

the name and capacity of the defendant's agent or of the
intervener's lawyer;

the statements referred to in Article 44(2) of the Rules of
Procedure (statement of an address for service and/or
agreement to service by technical means of communica-
tion).

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The precise wording of the form of order sought by the
33.
defendant or by the intervener must be stated either at the
beginning or at the end of the response.

designed to facilitate the drafting of the notice for publication in
the Official Journal prescribed by Article 24(6) of the Rules of
Procedure. The summary in question must not be more than two
pages long.

Point 10, second indent, and points 15, 18, 20 and 26 of

34.
the Practice Directions shall apply to the response.

D.2. Appeals

N o t i c e o f A p p e a l

42.
The document referred to in Article 44(3) of the Rules of
Procedure (certificate that the lawyer is authorised to practise
before a court of a Member State or of another State which is a
party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area) must
be produced together with the notice of appeal, unless the
appellant
is a Community institution or a Member State
represented by an agent.

The notice of appeal must contain the statements

35.
prescribed under Article 138(1) of the Rules of Procedure.

R e s p o n s e

The following must appear at the beginning of any notice

36.
of appeal:

The response must contain the statements prescribed

43.
under Article 141(2) of the Rules of Procedure.

(a)

the name and address of the appellant;

(b)

the name and capacity of the appellant's agent or lawyer;

(c)

a reference to the decision of the Civil Service Tribunal
appealed against (nature of the decision, formation of the
Tribunal, date and case-number);

(d)

the names of the other parties to the proceedings before the
Civil Service Tribunal;

44.
In addition to the case-number and the name of the
appellant, the following must appear at the beginning of each
response:

(a)

the name and address of the party submitting the response;

(b)

the name and capacity of that party's agent or lawyer;

(c)

the date of service of the appeal on that party;

a reference to the date of service on the appellant of the
decision of the Civil Service Tribunal;

(d)

(e)

(f)

the statements referred to in Article 44(2) of the Rules of
Procedure
in
Luxembourg and/or agreement
to service by technical
means of communication).

(statement of

an address

service

for

37.
The precise wording of the form of order sought by the
appellant must be stated either at the beginning or at the end of
the notice (Article 139(1) of the Rules of Procedure).

38.
It is not generally necessary to describe the background or
subject-matter of the proceedings. A reference to the decision of
the Civil Service Tribunal is sufficient.

39.
It is recommended that the pleas in law be summarised at
the beginning of the notice. Legal arguments should be set forth
and grouped by reference to the particular pleas in law in
support of
the appeal to which they relate, particularly by
reference to the errors of law relied on.

A copy of the decision of

40.
appealed against shall be annexed to the notice.

the Civil Service Tribunal

Each notice of appeal must be accompanied by a
41.
summary of the pleas in law and main arguments relied on,

the statements referred to in Article 44(2) of the Rules of
in
Procedure
Luxembourg and/or agreement
to service by technical
means of communication).

(statement of

an address

service

for

45.
The precise wording of the form of order sought by the
party submitting the response must be stated either at the
beginning or at the end of the response (Article 142(1) of the
Rules of Procedure).

46.
If the response seeks to set aside, in whole or in part, the
decision of the Civil Service Tribunal on a plea in law which was
not raised in the appeal, a reference to that effect should be
included in the heading of the pleading (‘response and cross-
appeal’).

Legal arguments must, as far as possible, be set forth and
47.
grouped by reference to the appellant's pleas in law and/or, as the
case may be, to the pleas in law relating to the cross-appeal.

Since the factual and legal background is already included
48.
in the judgment under appeal,
it should be repeated in the
response only, in truly exceptional circumstances, in so far as its
presentation in the notice of appeal
is contested or requires
clarification. The matter of fact or of law contested must be
specified and the basis on which it is contested expressly stated.

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The document referred to in Article 44(3) of the Rules of
49.
Procedure (certificate that the lawyer is authorised to practise
before a Court of a Member State or of another State which is a
party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area) must
be produced together with the response, unless the party
producing it is a Community institution or a Member State
represented by an agent.

E. Annexes to pleadings

50. Only those documents mentioned in the actual text of a
pleading and which are necessary in order to prove or illustrate
its contents may be submitted as annexes.

Annexes will be accepted only if they are accompanied by

51.
a schedule indicating, for each document annexed:

(a)

the number of the annex;

(b)

(c)

a short description of the document (e.g. ‘letter’), followed
by its date, author and addressee and the number of pages;

the page reference and paragraph number in the pleading
where the document is mentioned and its relevance is
described.

An annex should also be numbered in such a way as to identify
for example,
the pleading in which it
Annex A.1, A.2, etc. in an application; Annex B.1, B.2, etc. in
a defence; Annex C.1, C.2, etc. in a reply; Annex D.1, D.2, etc. in
a rejoinder).

is produced (thus,

52.
The pages of documents annexed to a pleading must be
numbered in the top right-hand corner, either consecutively with
the pleading to which they are annexed or separately from the
pleading concerned. Such page numbering is intended to make it
possible to ensure, by means of a page count, that all pages of the
annexes have been duly scanned.

reasonable period shall be prescribed for the purposes of putting
the application in order:

(a)

(b)

production of the certificate of the lawyer's authorisation to
practise (Article 44(3) of the Rules of Procedure);

proof of the existence in law of a legal person governed by
private law (Article 44(5)(a) of the Rules of Procedure);

(c)

authority (Article 44(5)(b) of the Rules of Procedure);

(d)

(e)

proof that that authority has been properly conferred by
someone authorised for the purpose (Article 44(5)(b) of the
Rules of Procedure);

production of the contested measure (action for annulment)
or of the documentary evidence of the date on which the
institution was requested to act (action for failure to act)
(second paragraph of Article 21 of the Statute of the Court
of Justice; Article 44(4) of the Rules of Procedure).

56.
In intellectual property cases in which the lawfulness of a
decision of a Board of Appeal of OHIM is called into question, an
application which does not
following
requirements under Article 132 of the Rules of Procedure shall
not be served on the other party/parties, and a reasonable period
shall be prescribed for the purposes of putting the application in
order:

comply with the

(a)

(b)

the names and addresses of the parties to the proceedings
before
subparagraph of
the Board of Appeal
Article 132(1) of the Rules of Procedure);

(first

the date on which the decision of the Board of Appeal was
notified (second subparagraph of Article 132(1) of the
Rules of Procedure);

(c)

the contested decision annexed (second subparagraph of
Article 132(1) of the Rules of Procedure).

53. Where annexes are documents which themselves contain
annexes, they must be arranged and numbered in such a way as
to avoid all possibility of confusion and should, where necessary,
be separated by dividers.

If an application does not comply with the following
57.
procedural rules, service of the application shall be delayed and a
reasonable period shall be prescribed for the purposes of putting
the application in order:

54.
Each reference in the text of a pleading to a document
lodged must state the relevant annex number as given in the
schedule of annexes and indicate the pleading with which the
annex has been lodged, in the manner described at point 51
above.

(a)

indication of the applicant's address (first paragraph of
Article 21 of the Statute of the Court of Justice; Arti-
cle 44(1)(a) of the Rules of Procedure; point 13(a) of the
Practice Directions);

F. Regularisation of pleadings

F.1

Regularisation of applications

(b)

original signature of the lawyer or agent at the end of the
application (point 7 of the Practice Directions);

(c)

numbered paragraphs (point 6 of the Practice Directions);

55.
If an application does not comply with the following
requirements set out in Article 44(3) to (5) of the Rules of
it shall not be served on the defendant and a
Procedure,

(d)

production of
the annexes mentioned in the schedule
(second subparagraph of Article 43(1) of the Rules of
Procedure);

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(e)

sufficient number of copies of the annexes mentioned in
the schedule (second subparagraph of Article 43(1) of the
Rules of Procedure);

(d)

translation into the language of the case accompanying any
document expressed in a language other than the language
of the case (second subparagraph of Article 35(3) of the
Rules of Procedure).

(f)

production of a schedule of annexes (Article 43(4) of the
Rules of Procedure and point 51 of the Practice Directions);

R e g u l a r i s a t i o n o f

l e n g t h y a p p l i c a t i o n s :

(g)

sufficient number of copies of
the schedule (second
subparagraph of Article 43(1) of the Rules of Procedure);

(h)

schedule of annexes with page reference and paragraph
number(s) (point 51(c) of the Practice Directions);

59.
An application comprising a number of pages which
exceeds the maximum number of pages prescribed at point 10 of
the Practice Directions by 40 % or more
require
regularisation, unless otherwise directed by the President.

shall

(i)

(j)

sufficient number of copies of the schedule of annexes with
page reference and paragraph number(s) (second subpara-
graph of Article 43(1) of the Rules of Procedure);

An application comprising a number of pages which exceeds the
maximum number of pages prescribed at point 10 of
the
Practice Directions by less than 40 % may require regularisation
if so directed by the President.

sufficient number of copies of the contested measure or of
the documentary evidence of
the date on which the
institution was requested to act (second subparagraph of
Article 43(1) of the Rules of Procedure);

Where an applicant is requested to put his application in order,
service on the defendant of
the application which requires
regularisation on account of its length shall be delayed.

(k)

production of a copy of
the contract containing the
arbitration clause (Article 44(5a) of the Rules of Procedure);

F.2

Regularisation of other pleadings

(l)

sufficient number of copies of the contract containing the
arbitration clause (second subparagraph of Article 43(1) of
the Rules of Procedure);

The instances of regularisation referred to above shall

60.
apply as necessary to pleadings other than the application.

(m) pagination of the application and annexes (points 8(d) and

52 of the Practice Directions);

G. Applications for expedited procedure

(n)

sufficient number of certified copies of the application
(seven for inter partes intellectual property cases and six for
all other cases) (second subparagraph of Article 43(1) of the
Rules of Procedure);

61.
An application in respect of which the expedited
procedure is requested must not in principle exceed 25 pages.
Such an application must be submitted in accordance with the
requirements set out at points 12 to 19 above.

(o)

production of certified true copies of
the application
(second subparagraph of Article 43(1) of the Rules of
Procedure; point 9 of the Practice Directions).

58.
If the application does not comply with the following
procedural rules, the application shall be served and a reasonable
period shall be prescribed for the purposes of putting it in order:

(a)

address for service (statement of an address for service and/
or agreement to service by technical means of commu-
nication) (Article 44(2) of the Rules of Procedure; Arti-
cle 10(3) of the Instructions to the Registrar; points 4 and
13(d) of the Practice Directions);

(b)

certificate of authorisation to practise in respect of any
additional lawyer (Article 44(3) of the Rules of Procedure);

(c)

summary of the pleas in law and main arguments (point 19
of the Practice Directions);

62.
An application for a case to be decided by the Court under
the expedited procedure, which is made by a separate document
in accordance with Article 76a of the Rules of Procedure, must
contain a brief statement of the reasons for the special urgency of
the case and any other relevant circumstances. The provisions of
Sections B and E above shall apply.

It

is recommended that

the party applying for

63.
the
expedited procedure specifies in its application the pleas in law,
arguments or passages of the pleading in question (application or
defence) which are put forward only in the event that the case is
not decided under the expedited procedure. That information,
referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 76a(1) of the
Rules of Procedure, must be clearly specified in the application,
indicating the numbers of the paragraphs concerned.

64.
It is recommended also that an abbreviated version of the
relevant pleading be annexed to any application for a case to be
decided under the expedited procedure which contains the
information referred to at point 63 above.

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Where an abbreviated version is annexed, it must comply with
the following directions:

(a)

(b)

(c)

the abbreviated version shall be in the same format as the
original version of the pleading in question, with omitted
passages being identified by the word ‘omissis’ in square
brackets;

paragraphs which are retained in the abbreviated version
shall keep the same numbering as in the original version of
the pleading in question;

if the abbreviated version does not refer to all of the
annexes to the original version of the pleading in question,
the schedule of annexes accompanying the abbreviated
version shall
identify each annex omitted by the word
‘omissis’;

(d)

annexes which are retained in the abbreviated version must
keep the same numbering as in the schedule of annexes in
the original version of the pleading in question;

(e)

the annexes referred to in the schedule accompanying the
abbreviated version must be attached to that version.

In order to ensure that it is dealt with as expeditiously as
possible, the abbreviated version must comply with the above
directions.

65. Where the production of an abbreviated version of the
pleading is requested by the Court under Article 76a(4) of the
Rules of Procedure, the abbreviated version must be prepared in
accordance with the above directions, unless otherwise specified.

66.
If the applicant has not specified in its application for
expedited procedure the pleas in law, arguments or passages of
the application which are to be taken into consideration only in
the event that the case is not decided under the expedited
procedure,
the defendant must respond to the application
initiating proceedings within a period of one month.

If the applicant has specified in its application for expedited
procedure the pleas in law, arguments or passages of
the
application which are to be taken into consideration only in the
event that the case is not decided under the expedited procedure,
the defendant must respond, within a period of one month, to
the pleas in law and arguments advanced in the application, in
the light of the information provided in the application for the
expedited procedure.

the
the applicant has attached an abbreviated version of
If
application to its application for expedited procedure,
the
defendant must respond, within a period of one month, to the
pleas in law and arguments contained in that abbreviated version
of the application.

If

67.
the Court decides to reject the application for an
expedited procedure before the defendant has lodged its defence,
the period of one month for lodgment of the defence prescribed
under the first subparagraph of Article 76a(2) of the Rules of
Procedure shall be extended by a further month.

If the Court decides to reject the application for an expedited
procedure after the defendant has lodged its defence within the
period of one month prescribed by the first subparagraph of
Article 76a(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the defendant shall be
allowed a further period of one month in order to supplement
his defence.

H. Applications for suspension of operation or
enforcement and other interim measures

68.
The application must be made by a separate document. It
must be intelligible in itself, without necessitating reference to
the application lodged in the main proceedings.

69.
An application for suspension of operation or enforce-
ment or for other interim measures must state, with the utmost
concision, the subject-matter of the proceedings, the pleas of fact
and of law on which the main action is based (establishing a
in that action) and the
prima facie case on the merits
circumstances giving rise to urgency.
It must specify the
measure(s) applied for. Sections B, D and E above shall apply.

70.
Because an application for interim measures requires the
existence of a prima facie case to be assessed for the purposes of
a summary procedure, it must not set out in full the text of the
application in the main proceedings.

71.
In order that an application for interim measures may be
dealt with urgently, the number of pages it contains must not in
principle (depending on the subject-matter and the circum-
stances of the case) exceed a maximum of 25 pages.

I. Applications for confidential treatment

72. Without prejudice to the provisions of the second and
third subparagraphs of Article 67(3) of the Rules of Procedure,
the Court shall take into consideration only those documents
which have been made available to the lawyers and agents of the
parties and on which they have been given an opportunity of
expressing their views (first subparagraph of Article 67(3) of the
Rules of Procedure).

Nevertheless, a party may apply for any part of

73.
contents of the case-file which are secret or confidential:

the

— to be excluded from the documents to be furnished to an
intervener (Article 116(2) of the Rules of Procedure);

— not to be made available to a party in a joined case

(Article 50(2) of the Rules of Procedure).

A p p l i c a t i o n s

f o r

l e a v e t o i n t e r v e n e

An application by one of

74.
to
Article 116(2) of the Rules of Procedure for the exclusion on
grounds of secrecy or confidentiality of any part of the contents
of the case-file from the documents to be furnished to an
intervener shall be made by a separate document.

the parties pursuant

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Such an application must be limited to what is strictly
75.
necessary. It may not in any event cover the entirety of a pleading
and may only exceptionally extend to the entirety of an annexed
document.
It should usually be feasible to furnish a non-
confidential version of a document in which passages, words or
figures have been deleted without harming the interest sought to
be protected. An application which is insufficiently detailed will
not be considered.

An application must accurately identify the particulars or
76.
passages to be excluded and briefly state the reasons for which
each of those particulars or passages is regarded as secret or
confidential.

77.
The application must be accompanied by a non-
confidential version of each pleading or document concerned
with the confidential material deleted.

J o i n e d c a s e s

78.
An application by one of the parties pursuant to Arti-
cle 50(2) of the Rules of Procedure for any part of the contents of
the case-file not to be made available to a party in a joined case
on grounds of secrecy or confidentiality shall be made by a
separate document.

Points 75 to 77 of the Practice Directions shall apply
treatment

for confidential

to applications

79.
mutatis mutandis
submitted in joined cases.

J. Applications for leave to lodge a reply in appeal
proceedings

Under Article 143(1) of

80.
the
President may, on application within the period prescribed by
that provision, allow a reply to be submitted if it is necessary in
order to enable the appellant to put forward his point of view or
in order to provide a basis for the decision on the appeal.

the Rules of Procedure,

81.
Save in exceptional circumstances, such an application
must not exceed 2 to 3 pages and must be confined to
summarising the precise reasons for which, in the appellant's
opinion, a reply is necessary. The request must be intelligible in
itself, without necessitating reference to the appeal or to the
response.

that party considers it necessary to develop or disprove more
fully at a hearing.
It is not sufficient to provide a general
statement of reasons referring to the importance of the case or of
the questions to be decided.

L. Applications for legal aid

The use of a form in making an application for legal aid is
84.
compulsory. The form is available on the website of the Court of
Justice at www.curia.europa.eu.

The form may also be obtained on request from the Registry of
the Court of First Instance (Tel. (352) 4303 3477), either by
sending an email stating the applicant's name and address to
CFI.Registry@curia.europa.eu, or by writing to the following
address:

Registry of the Court of First Instance
Rue du Fort Niedergrünewald
L-2925 Luxembourg

85.
Any request for legal aid submitted otherwise than by
using the application form will not be taken into consideration
and will give rise to a reply from the Registrar reiterating that the
use of the form is compulsory and attaching a copy of the form.

The original application for legal aid must be signed by

86.
the legal aid applicant or by his lawyer.

87.
If the application for legal aid is submitted by the legal aid
applicant's lawyer before the application initiating proceedings
legal aid must be
the application for
has been lodged,
accompanied by documentation certifying that the lawyer is
authorised to practise before a Court of a Member State or of
another State which is a party to the Agreement on the European
Economic Area.

88.
The application form is intended to provide the Court, in
accordance with Article 95(2) of the Rules of Procedure, with the
information required to give an effective decision on the
application for legal aid. The information required concerns:

— the legal aid applicant's economic situation;

and,

K. Applications for hearing of oral argument in appeal
proceedings

82.
The Court may decide to rule on the appeal without an
oral procedure, unless one of the parties submits an application
to be heard within the period prescribed under Article 146 of the
Rules of Procedure.

— where the action has not yet been brought, the subject-
matter of the action, the facts of the case and the arguments
relating thereto.

Together with the form, the legal aid applicant is required to
produce documentary evidence to support his assertions.

83.
The application must set out the reasons for which the
party wishes to be heard. That reasoning must be based on a real
assessment of the benefit of a hearing to the party in question
and must indicate the elements of the file or arguments which

89.
The duly completed form and supporting documents
must be intelligible in themselves without necessitating reference
to any other letters lodged at the Registry by the legal aid
applicant.

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to request
90. Without prejudice to the Court's power
information or the production of
further documents under
Article 64 of the Rules of Procedure, the application for legal aid
may not be supplemented by the subsequent
lodgment of
addenda. Such addenda will be returned, unless they have been
In exceptional cases,
lodged at
supporting documents intended to establish the applicant's lack
of means may nevertheless be accepted subsequently, subject to
the delay in their production being adequately explained.

the request of

the Court.

Under Article 96(4) of

the Rules of Procedure,

91.
the
introduction of an application for legal aid is to suspend the
period prescribed for the bringing of the action to which the
application refers until the date of notification of the order
making a decision on that application or, where no lawyer is
designated in that order to represent the person concerned, until
the date of service of the order designating the lawyer instructed
to represent the legal aid applicant.

The suspension shall take effect from the date on which the form
is lodged or, where the request for legal aid is submitted without
using the form, from the date on which that request is lodged,
provided that the form is returned within the period prescribed
by the Registry to that effect in the letter referred to at point 85
above. If the form is not returned within the prescribed period,
the suspension shall take effect from the date on which the form
is lodged.

92. Where the form is lodged by fax or email, the signed
original must reach the Registry of the Court no more than
10 days after such lodgment, in order for the date of lodgment of
the fax or email to be taken into account in the suspension of the
time-limit for bringing an action. If the original form is not
lodged within that 10-day period, the suspension of the time-
limit for bringing an action shall take effect on the date on which
the original form is lodged. In the event of any discrepancy
between the signed original and the copy previously lodged, only
the signed original will be taken into account, and the relevant
date for the purpose of suspension of the time-limit for bringing
an action will be the date on which that original was lodged.

II. ORAL PROCEDURE

93.

The oral procedure exists:

— where necessary,

to reiterate in condensed form the
position taken by the parties, emphasising the key
submissions advanced in writing,

— to clarify, if necessary, certain arguments advanced during
the written procedure and to submit any new arguments
prompted by recent events which arose after the close of
the written procedure and which could not therefore have
been set out in the pleadings,

— to reply to any questions put by the Court.

94.
It is for Counsel to each party to assess, in the light of the
purpose of the oral procedure, as defined in point 93 above,
whether oral argument is really necessary or whether it would be
to the pleadings or written
sufficient

to refer

simply

observations. The oral procedure can then concentrate on the
replies to questions put by the Court. If Counsel does consider it
necessary to address the Court, he may always confine himself to
making specific points and referring to the pleadings in relation
to other points.

95.
If a party refrains from presenting oral argument, this will
never be construed as constituting acquiescence in the oral
argument presented by another party where the arguments in
question have already been refuted in writing. Such silence will
not preclude that party from responding to the other party's
submission.

96.
In some cases, the Court may consider it preferable to
start the oral procedure with questions put by its Members to
Counsel for the parties. In that case, Counsel are requested to
take this into account if they then wish to make a brief address.

97.
In the interests of clarity and in order to enable the
Members of the Court to understand oral submissions better, it is
generally preferable for Counsel to speak freely on the basis of
notes rather than to read out a written text. Counsel for the
parties are also requested to simplify their presentation of the
case as far as possible; a series of short sentences will always be
preferable to a long, complicated sentence. It would also assist
the Court if Counsel could structure their oral argument and
indicate, before developing it, the structure they intend to adopt.

If, however, the submission is prepared in writing, it is advisable
to bear in mind when drafting it that it will have to be presented
orally and should therefore resemble a spoken text as much as
possible. To facilitate interpretation, agents and lawyers are
requested to send any text or written notes for their submissions
to the Directorate for Interpretation in advance either by fax
((+352) 4303 3697) or by e-mail (interpret@curia.europa.eu).

Any notes for submissions thus transmitted will be treated in the
strictest confidence. To avoid any misunderstanding, the name of
the party must be stated. Notes for submissions will not be
placed on the case-file.

Counsel are reminded that, depending on the case being
98.
heard, only some of the Members of the bench will be following
the oral argument in the language in which it is being presented;
the other Members will be listening to the simultaneous
interpretation.
In the interests of the better conduct of the
proceedings and of maintaining the quality of the simultaneous
interpretation, Counsel are strongly advised to speak slowly and
directly into the microphone.

Where Counsel intend to cite verbatim passages from certain
texts or documents, particularly passages not appearing in the
documents before the Court, it would be helpful if they would
indicate the passages concerned to the interpreters before the
hearing. Similarly, it may be helpful to draw the ‘interpreters’
attention to any terms which may be difficult to translate.

99.
As the courtrooms are equipped with an automatic sound
amplification system, Counsel must press the button on the
microphone in order to switch it on and wait for the light to

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come on before starting to speak. The button should not be
pressed while a Member of the Court or another person is
speaking, in order not to cut off his or her microphone.

100. The time taken in presenting oral submissions may vary,
depending on the complexity of the case and on whether or not
new facts have arisen. The lawyers or agents of the main parties
are requested to limit their oral submissions to 15 minutes or
thereabouts for each party, and those of any intervener to
10 minutes, unless the Registry has indicated otherwise. These
limitations apply only to the presentation of oral argument itself
and not to time spent in answering questions put at the hearing.

If circumstances so require, a request for leave to exceed the
speaking time normally allowed, giving reasons and indicating
the speaking time considered necessary, may be made to the
Registry at
in duly substantiated
(or
exceptional circumstances) before the date fixed for the hearing.
When such requests are made, Counsel for the parties will be
informed of the time which they will have for presenting their
oral submissions.

least 15 days

less,

101. Where a party is represented by more than one Counsel,
no more than two of them may normally present argument and
their combined speaking time must not exceed the time-limits
indicated above. However, Counsel other
than those who
addressed the Court may answer questions from Members of
the Court and reply to observations of other Counsel.

Where two or more parties are advancing the same argument
before the Court
in
particular, there are interventions or where cases have been
joined), their Counsel are requested to confer with each other
before the hearing in order to avoid any repetition.

(a situation which may arise where,

102. The Report for the Hearing is drawn up by the Judge-
Rapporteur and provides an objective summary of the case. It
does not set out every detail of the ‘parties’ arguments but is
meant
their pleas and
arguments have been properly understood and to facilitate study
of the documents before the Court by the other Members of the
bench hearing the case.

to enable the parties to check that

The Court will make every effort to ensure that Counsel for the
parties receive the Report for the Hearing at least three weeks
before the hearing. The sole purpose of this document is to
prepare the hearing for the oral procedure.

If the Report for the Hearing contains factual errors,
103.
Counsel are requested to notify them to the Registry in writing
before the hearing. Similarly, if it does not correctly convey the
essence of a party's argument, Counsel
for that party may
propose the amendments they consider appropriate.

If at the hearing Counsel submit oral observations on the Report
for the Hearing, these will be recorded by the Registrar or acting
Registrar.

104. When citing a judgment of the Court of Justice, the Court
of First Instance or the Civil Service Tribunal, Counsel are
requested to give all the references, including the names of the
parties, and, where relevant, to state the number of the page of
the European Court Reports (ECR) on which the passage in
question appears.

105. The Court will accept documents submitted at the hearing
only in exceptional circumstances and only after the parties have
been heard in that regard.

106. A request
to use particular technical means for the
purposes of a presentation must be made in good time.
Arrangements for such use of technology should be made with
the Registrar, so that any technical or practical constraints can be
taken into account.

III.

ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THESE PRACTICE DIRECTIONS

107. The Practice Directions to parties of 14 March 2002 (OJ
L 87, 4.4.2002, p. 48) and the ‘Notes for the guidance of counsel
at the hearing of oral argument’ are hereby revoked and replaced
by these Practice Directions.

108. These Practice Directions shall be published in the Official
Journal of the European Union. They shall enter into force on the
day following their publication.

Done at Luxembourg, 5 July 2007.

E. COULON

Registrar

B. VESTERDORF

President