CELEX: 62009CA0548
Language: en
Date: 2011-11-16 00:00:00
Title: Case C-548/09 P: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 16 November 2011 — Bank Melli Iran v Council of the European Union; French Republic; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; European Commission (Appeals — Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against the Islamic Republic of Iran to prevent nuclear proliferation — Freezing of the funds of a bank — Failure to notify the decision — Legal basis — Rights of the defence)

28.1.2012   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 25/6
            
         
      Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 16 November 2011 — Bank Melli Iran v Council of the European Union; French Republic; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; European Commission
      (Case C-548/09 P) (1)
      
      (Appeals - Common foreign and security policy - Restrictive measures against the Islamic Republic of Iran to prevent nuclear proliferation - Freezing of the funds of a bank - Failure to notify the decision - Legal basis - Rights of the defence)
      (2012/C 25/09)
      Language of the case: French
      
         Parties
      
      
         Appellant: Bank Melli Iran (represented by: L. Defalque, avocate)
      
         Other parties to the proceedings: Council of the European Union (represented by: M. Bishop and R. Szostak, acting as Agents); French Republic (represented by: E. Belliard, G. de Bergues, L. Butel and E. Ranaivoson, acting as Agents); United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (represented by: S. Hathaway, acting as Agent, and D. Beard, Barrister); European Commission (represented by: S. Boelaert and M. Konstantinidis, acting as Agents)
      
         Re:
      
      Appeal brought against the judgment delivered by the Court of First Instance (Second Chamber) on 14 October 2009 in Case T-390/08 Bank Melli Iran v Council by which the Court dismissed the appellant’s action for annulment of paragraph 4 of Table B in the annex to Council Decision 2008/475/EC of 23 June 2008 implementing Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 423/2007 concerning restrictive measures against Iran (OJ 2008 L 163, p. 29) in so far as it relates to Bank Melli Iran and its branches — No individual notification of that decision — Breach of essential procedural requirements — No legal basis for the decision to freeze the appellant’s funds — Failure to respect the rights of the defence and the principle of effective judicial protection — Infringement of the principle of proportionality and of the right to property
      
         Operative part of the judgment
      
      The Court:
      
                  1.
               
               
                  Dismisses the appeal;
               
            
                  2.
               
               
                  Orders Bank Melli Iran to pay the costs.
               
            
         (1)  OJ C 80, 27.3.2010.