Case T-390/08: Action brought on 18 September 2008 — Bank Melli Iran v Council
Date: 2008-09-18
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: Council of the European Union, Iran, action for annulment (EU), bank, economic sanctions, legal person, natural person

25.10.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 272/49

Action brought on 18 September 2008 — Bank Melli Iran
v Council

(Case T-390/08)

(2008/C 272/94)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: Bank Melli
Defalque, lawyer)

Iran (Tehran,

Iran)

(represented by: L.

Defendant: Council of the European Union

Form of order sought

— annul paragraph 4, section B, of the Annex to Council Deci-
sion 2008/475/EC of 23 June 2008 concerning restrictive
measures against Iran, in so far as it relates to Bank Melli
Iran, its subsidiaries and branches;

— in the alternative, declare the present action to be inapplic-
able under Article 241 EC and Articles 15(2) and 7(2) of
Council Regulation No 423/2007 of 19 April 2007;

— in any event, order the Council to pay all of the costs in
accordance with Article 87(2) of the Rules of Procedure of
the Court of First Instance.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In this case, the applicant seeks the annulment of Council Deci-
sion 2008/475/EC of 23 June 2008 implementing Article 7(2)
restrictive
of Regulation (EC) No 423/2007 concerning
measures against Iran (1) in so far as it is included in the list of
natural and legal persons, entities and bodies whose funds and
economic resources are frozen pursuant to that provision.

In support of its action, the applicant relies on seven pleas in
law alleging:

— infringement of the essential procedural requirements of the
EC Treaty and the rules of law relating to its application,
misuse of powers and failure to comply with Article 7(2) of
Common Position 2007/140/CFSP (2), as the contested deci-
sion was adopted in disregard of the rule of unanimity set
out in Article 7(2) of Common Position 2007/140/CFSP;

— in the

alternative,

that Article 15(2) of Regulation
No 423/2007 (3) providing for qualified majority voting is
unlawful;

— infringement of

the principle of proportionality as the
Council
imposed the freeze on the applicant's funds and
economic resources although Resolution 1803 (2008) of
the United Nations Security Council merely called upon
States to exercise vigilance over the activities of financial
institutions in their territories with all banks domiciled in
Iran, including the applicant;

— infringement of

the right

to a
the rights of defence,
fair hearing and the right to an effective legal remedy in so
far as (i) States were merely called upon, in Resolution 1803
(2008), to exercise vigilance and (ii) the applicant had not
been mentioned by the previous resolutions of the United
Nations Security Council
(Resolutions 1737 (2006) and
1747 (2007)); furthermore, the applicant was not informed
of the evidence adduced against it;

— infringement of the fundamental right to respect for prop-

erty;

— infringement of Article 15(3) of Regulation No 423/2007 in
so far as the Council should have stated individual and
specific reasons for its decision in view of the mere obliga-
tion of vigilance in Resolution 1803 (2008) and the treat-
ment reserved for other Iranian banks;

— infringement of the competences of the Community as the
freeze on the applicant's funds and economic resources
constitutes a quasi-penal sanction, particularly since the
present case does not involve the transposition of a resolu-
inasmuch as
tion of the United Nations Security Council
freeze
Resolution 1803 (2008) does not envisage that
measure.

(1) OJ 2008 L 163, p. 29.
(2) Council Common Position 2007/140/CFSP of 27 February 2007
concerning restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2007 L 61, p. 49).
(3) Council Regulation (EC) No 423/2007 of 19 April 2007 concerning

restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2007 L 103, p. 1).

Order of the Court of First Instance of 2 September 2008
— Hamdi v Council

(Joined Cases T-75/07 and T-363/07) (1)

(2008/C 272/95)

Language of the case: Dutch

The President of the Second Chamber has ordered that the case
be removed from the register.

— infringement of the principle of equal treatment in so far as
the Council imposed the freeze on the applicant's funds and
economic resources without having applied that measure to
other Iranian banks in the same situation;

(1) OJ C 117, 26.5.2007.