CELEX: C1997/357/62
Language: en
Date: 1997-11-22 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 19 September 1997 by Hans C. Herold against the Commission of the European Communities (Case T-257/97)

22 . 11 . 97          EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                    C 357/33
     'Administrative information' of 7 April 1986 (No 498 ),         Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
     in so far as the contested decision was signed by a
     head of division posted in Luxembourg and not by the
     Director General for Personnel and Administration,
                                                                     The applicant was employed as a member of the
                                                                     defendant's staff at Ispra . After suffering a skiing accident
                                                                     in March 1982, he took early retirement on 1 March
— infringement of Article 25 ( 2 ) of the Staff Regulations          1986 on account of partial permanent invalidity. In May
     and of the principle 'non bis in idem', which is                1986 he applied for an increase in the percentage of his
     contained, in particular, in Article 86 ( 3 ) of the Staff      partial invalidity from 28% to 50/55% . After 10 years, in
     Regulations, and a manifest error of assessment, in so          April 1996, the applicant received, as a result, a 14%
     far as the defendant based its refusal to terminate the         increase in the degree of his partial invalidity which
     applicant's temporary secondment to the Publications            brought it up to a total of 42% , a compensation payment
     Office and to reinstate him in his usual duties in the          which was credited to his account on 25 April 1996 .
     Security Office on reasoning relating exclusively to the
     reprimand he received.                                          By his action, the applicant seeks compensation for the
                                                                     damage .suffered by him by reason of the length of time
The applicant claims, in that respect, that the effect of            which it took to process his claim, the period in question
refusing his request on those grounds was to impose a                having lasted from 14 May 1986 until 25 April 1996 , on
second penalty on him for conduct in respect of which                which latter date the payment was made to him.
a definitive disciplinary decision had been taken .
Furthermore, the contested decision implies that the                 The applicant claims compensation for the damage
responsibilities of an official within the Security Office are       suffered as a result of the delay, for the loss culpably
so sensitive that they require a higher level of morality            inflicted on him and for the damage caused by default.
than other departments of the Commission. According to
the applicant, that approach constitutes a manifest error
of assessment. In that respect, he points out that another           According to the applicant, an official who does not
official who was involved in the same disciplinary                   receive a compensation payment until many years after his
proceedings was able to remain in his post, despite the              accident is placed in a considerably worse position than
fact that he carried out very sensitive duties within the            an official in comparable circumstances who receives
'Euratom Security Control' Directorate and received the              payment of the compensation only a short time after the
same reprimand.                                                      accident. Such unequal treatment is in breach of the legal
                                                                     principle prohibiting discrimination. That principle, the
                                                                     counterpart formulation of which is the requirement of
                                                                     equal treatment, prevails over the Staff Regulations of
                                                                     officials of the European Communities, and in this
                                                                     particular case over Article 73 ( 2 ) thereof.
Action brought on 19 September 1997 by Hans C. Herold
   against the Commission of the European Communities                In so far as the defendant seeks to rely on that provision
                                                                     in opposition to the applicant's claim, the applicant will
                        ( Case T-257/97)                             plead that the defendant's obligations even extended to
                          ( 97/C 357/62 )                            securing an amendment to, or supplementation of, the
                                                                     Staff Regulations. Hitherto, however, it has not in fact
                                                                     made any attempt to do so .
               (Language of the case: German)
An action against the Commission of the European
Communities was brought before the Court of First
Instance of the European Communities on 19 September
1997 by Hans C. Herold, residing at Levanto (Italy ),                Action brought on 22 September 1997 by Societa Eridania
represented by Bernd Potthast, Hans-Josef Ruber and                  SpA and Others against the Council of the European
Albert Potthast, Rechtsanwalte, Cologne, with an address                                           Union
for service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Ernest
Arendt, 8—10 Rue Mathias Hardt.                                                             ( Case T-258/97)
                                                                                              ( 97/C 357/63 )
The applicant claims that the Court should:
                                                                                     (Language of the case: Italian)
— annul the defendant's decision of 20 November 1996 ,
                                                                     An action against the Council of the European Union was
— order the defendant to pay to the applicant                         brought before the Court of First Instance of the European
     compensation in the sum of BF 1 057 567 together                 Communities on 22 September 1997 by Societa Eridania
      with 5 % interest from 26 October 1984,                         SpA whose registered office is at Genoa, and Industria
                                                                      Saccarifera Italiana Agroindustriale SpA, whose registered
                                                                      office is at Padua, of the Eridania Group, Societa Sadam
— order the defendant to pay the costs.                               Zuccherifici, a division of S.E.C.I. ( Societa Esercizi