CELEX: C1997/040/48
Language: en
Date: 1997-02-08 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 14 October 1996 by Paolo Salvatore Affatato against the Commission of the European Communities (Case T-157/96)

No C 40/20           I EN |                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                    8 . 2 . 97
Action brought on 14 October 1996 by Paolo Salvatore                   can alter its contents . Thus, once published, the list of
Affatato against the Commission of the European                        successful candidates on which the applicant's name
                            Communities                                appeared could not be altered without the other party
                         ( Case T-157/96 )                             being heard , even as a self-protection measure, since the
                                                                       alleged error was one of fact and not of law.
                            ( 97/C 40/48 )
                                                                       According to the applicant, the entire procedure appears
                 (Language of the case: Italian)                       therefore to be vitiated by serious irregularities at every
                                                                       stage or, at the least, in its latter stages .
An action against the Commission of the European
Communities was brought before the Court of First
Instance of the European Communities on 14 October
1996 by Paolo Salvatore Affatato, residing at Foggia
( Italy ), represented and defended by Nicola De Perna ,
Avvocato, Foggia, with an address for servicc at 13 Piazza             Action brought on 15 October 1996 by Riidiger Wenk
del Lago, Foggia .
                                                                          against the Commission of the European Communities
                                                                                                Case T- 159/96 )
The applicant claims that the Court should :                                                     ( 97/C 40/49 )
                                                                                        (Language of the case: French)
— declare valid and legitimate the official notification of
      5 July 1996 with the result that the applicant's name
                                                                       An action against the Commission of the European
      is returned to the list of successful candidates,
                                                                       Communities was brought before the Court of First
                                                                       Instance of the European Communities on 15 October
— annul the unlawful stages of the competition in                      1996 by Riidiger Wenk , residing in Caracas (Venezuela ),
      question with the result that it is held again ,                 represented by Nicolas Lhoest, of the Brussels Bar, with an
                                                                       address for service in Luxembourg at the offices of
                                                                       Fiduciaire Myson Sari, 30 Rue de Cessange .
— order payment of compensation for pecuniary and
      non-pecuniary damage resulting from the conduct of
                                                                       The applicant claims that the Court should :
      the jury and other related bodies, which was at the
      least equivocal .
                                                                       — annul the decision rejecting the applicant's candidature
                                                                            for post COM/121 /95, including the decision notified
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                         to the applicant by the despatch of a standard-form
                                                                            document dated 2 February 1996 ,
After taking part in competition COM/B/794 , the
applicant was informed by letter of 5 July 1996 from the               — annul , in so far as may be necessary, the implied
chairman of the jury that he had passed all the tests and                   rejection decision adopted by the Commission in
had accordingly been placed on the list of successful                       consequence of its failure to respond to the applicant's
candidates . However, by letter of 10 July 1996 , the                       complaint,
chairman retracted the earlier notification , excluding the
applicant from the list of successful candidates, whilst for           — annul all related or subsequent decisions adopted by
the first time communicating the marks obtained .                           the Commission, in particular the decision appointing
                                                                            another candidate to the post in issue ,
The applicant alleges first of all breach of the principles
that administrative procedures must be made public and                 — order the Commission to proceed afresh to fill the post
that administrative acts must be transparent. He maintains                  in issue, in accordance with the provisions of the Staff
that the jury acted all along in absolute secrecy ; whilst                  Regulations,
admitting him to the oral tests, it did not tell him what
marks he had obtained in the written tests . Its attitude              — order the Commission to pay all the costs .
remained the same during the oral tests, in which the
candidates were all interviewed behind strictly closed                 Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
doors and in the absence of any witnesses .
                                                                       The applicant, a grade A4 official assigned to the
As regards the supposed 'human error' which gave rise to               Commission 's Directorate-General IB, residing in Caracas,
the change in the list of successful candidates, the                   contests the refusal of the appointing authority to appoint
 applicant finds this rather curious given the small number            him to the post of Head of the Commission's Delegation
 of candidates ( 12 ) who were admitted to the oral test.              in San Jose ( Costa Rica ), advertised in vacancy notice
 However, most curious of all in the opinion of the                    COM/121 /95 as an A5/A4 post .
 applicant is the unilateral nature of the decisions adopted
 by the jury. Under all administrative systems , once the list          In support of his contentions, the applicant advances the
 of successful candidates has been published , no authority             following three pleas :