Joined Cases C-778/21 P and C-798/21 P: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 4 October 2024 – European Commission (C-778/21 P) and Council of the European Union (C-798/21 P) v Front populaire pour la libération de la Saguia-el-Hamra et du Rio de oro (Front Polisario) and Others (Appeal – External action – International agreements – Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco – Decision on the conclusion of that agreement and the implementation protocol thereto – Allegations of infringements of international law resulting from the applicability of that agreement to the waters adjacent to Western Sahara – Action for annulment – Admissibility – Capacity to be a party to legal proceedings – Locus standi – Condition that an applicant must, in certain cases, be directly and individually concerned by the measure in question – Principle of the relative effect of treaties – Principle of self-determination – Non-self-governing territories – Article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations – Discretion of the Council of the European Union – Customary international law – General principles of EU law – Consent of the people of a non-self-governing territory which holds a right to self-determination as a third party to an international agreement)
Date: 2024-10-04
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Morocco, Western Sahara, access to the courts, agreement (EU), customary law, international law, judicial review, rebel government








C_202501509EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/1509


17.3.2025






Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 4 October 2024 – European Commission (C-778/21 P) and Council of the European Union (C-798/21 P) v Front populaire pour la libération de la Saguia-el-Hamra et du Rio de oro (Front Polisario) and Others


(Joined Cases C-778/21 P and C-798/21 P)
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(Appeal - External action - International agreements - Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco - Decision on the conclusion of that agreement and the implementation protocol thereto - Allegations of infringements of international law resulting from the applicability of that agreement to the waters adjacent to Western Sahara - Action for annulment - Admissibility - Capacity to be a party to legal proceedings - Locus standi - Condition that an applicant must, in certain cases, be directly and individually concerned by the measure in question - Principle of the relative effect of treaties - Principle of self-determination - Non-self-governing territories - Article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations - Discretion of the Council of the European Union - Customary international law - General principles of EU law - Consent of the people of a non-self-governing territory which holds a right to self-determination as a third party to an international agreement)
(C/2025/1509)
Language of the case: French

Parties

C-778/21 P

Appellant: European Commission (represented initially by A. Bouquet, F. Castillo de la Torre and A. Stobiecka-Kuik, acting as Agents, and subsequently by A. Bouquet, D. Calleja Crespo and A. Stobiecka-Kuik, acting as Agents)

Other parties to the proceedings: Front populaire pour la libération de la Saguia-el-Hamra et du Rio de oro (Front Polisario) (represented by: G. Devers, avocat), Council of the European Union, Kingdom of Spain (represented by: A. Gavela Llopis, acting as Agent), French Republic (represented initially by J.-L. Carré, A.-L. Desjonquères and T. Stéhelin, acting as Agents, and subsequently by G. Bain, B. Herbaut, T. Stéhelin and B. Travard, acting as Agents), Chambre des pêches maritimes de la Méditerranée, Chambre des pêches maritimes de l’Atlantique Nord, Chambre des pêches maritimes de l’Atlantique Centre, and Chambre des pêches maritimes de l’Atlantique Sud (represented by: N. Angelet, G. Forwood and A. Hublet, avocats, and by N. Forwood, Barrister-at-Law)
C-798/21 P

Appellant: Council of the European Union (represented initially by F. Naert and V. Piessevaux, acting as Agents, and subsequently by F. Naert, A. Nowak-Salles and V. Piessevaux, acting as Agents)

Other parties to the proceedings: Front populaire pour la libération de la Saguia-el-Hamra et du Rio de oro (Front Polisario) (represented by: G. Devers, avocat), Kingdom of Spain (represented by: A. Gavela Llopis, acting as Agent), French Republic (represented initially by J.-L. Carré, A.-L. Desjonquères and T. Stéhelin, acting as Agents, and subsequently by G. Bain, B. Herbaut, T. Stéhelin and B. Travard, acting as Agents), European Commission (represented initially by A. Bouquet, F. Castillo de la Torre and A. Stobiecka-Kuik, acting as Agents, and subsequently by A. Bouquet, D. Calleja Crespo and A. Stobiecka-Kuik, acting as Agents), Chambre des pêches maritimes de la Méditerranée, Chambre des pêches maritimes de l’Atlantique Nord, Chambre des pêches maritimes de l’Atlantique Centre, and Chambre des pêches maritimes de l’Atlantique Sud (represented by: N. Angelet, G. Forwood and A. Hublet, avocats, and by N. Forwood, Barrister-at-Law)

Interveners in support of the Council of the European Union: Kingdom of Belgium (represented initially by J.-C. Halleux, C. Pochet and M. Van Regemorter, acting as Agents, and subsequently by C. Pochet and M. Van Regemorter, acting as Agents), Hungary (represented by: M.Z. Fehér and K. Szíjjártó, acting as Agents), Portuguese Republic (represented by: P. Barros da Costa and A. Pimenta, acting as Agents), and Slovak Republic (represented initially by B. Ricziová, acting as Agent, and subsequently by S. Ondrášiková, acting as Agent)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Dismisses the appeals;










2.


Declares that there is no need to adjudicate on the claims that the effects of Council Decision (EU) 2019/441 of 4 March 2019 on the conclusion of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco, the Implementation Protocol thereto and the Exchange of Letters accompanying the Agreement should be maintained;










3.


Orders the European Commission and the Council of the European Union to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the Front populaire pour la libération de la Saguia-el-Hamra et du Rio de oro (Front Polisario) in connection with the present appeals;










4.


Orders the Kingdom of Belgium, Hungary, the Portuguese Republic, the Slovak Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Chambre des pêches maritimes de la Méditerranée, the Chambre des pêches maritimes de l’Atlantique Nord, the Chambre des pêches maritimes de l’Atlantique Centre and the Chambre des pêches maritimes de l’Atlantique Sud to bear their own costs.






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            OJ C 119, 14.3.2022.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/1509/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)