CELEX: C2002/233/56
Language: en
Date: 2002-09-28 00:00:00
Title: Case T-229/02: Action brought on 31 July 2002 by Osman Ocalan on behalf of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Serif Vanly on behalf of Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) against the Council of the European Union

C 233/32               EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                        28.9.2002
Action brought on 31 July 2002 by Osman Ocalan on                              considered under the Regulation must be presently
behalf of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Serif Vanly                        engaged in terrorism. In fact, since July 1999, the PKK
on behalf of Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) against                         has dropped its demand for Kurdish independence and
               the Council of the European Union                               has merely sought the recognition, through peaceful and
                                                                               political means,
                         (Case T-229/02)
                                                                          —    Breach of internationally recognised right of self-determi-
                                                                               nation, of cultural, civil and political rights.
                         (2002/C 233/56)
                                                                          —    Breach of fundamental rights of expression and associ-
                   (Language of the case: English)                             ation.
                                                                          —    Breach of other principles of Community Law such as
An action against the Council of the European Union was                        proportionality, certainty, equality and right to a fair
brought before the Court of First Instance of the European                     hearing.
Communities on 31 July 2002 by Osman Ocalan on behalf of
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Serif Vanly on behalf of                —    Misuse of power, in that the Council’s inclusion of the
Kurdistan National Congress (KNK), represented by Mark                         PKK in the list in question should be as a result of
Muller, barrister, Edward Grieves, barrister, instructed by                    political pressure from Turkey and not as a result of any
Gareth Pierce, partner at Birnberg, Peirce and partners, 14                    meaningful application of the aforesaid criteria to the
Inverness Street, London NW1 7HJ, UK.                                          facts.
The applicants claim that the Court should:
—     declare void the Council Decision 2002/334/EC of 2 May
      2002 and the attendant decision dated 17 June 2002 in
      respect of its proscription of the PKK,
—     alternatively declare Regulation 2508/2001 illegal in
      respect of its application to the applicants,
                                                                          Action brought on 2 August 2002 by Piero Gonnelli and
                                                                          the Associazione Italiana Frantoiani Oleari (AIFO) against
—     order the Council to pay the costs incurred by the
                                                                                the Commission of the European Communities
      applicants in the present proceedings,
—     order the Council to pay damages.                                                            (Case T-231/02)
                                                                                                   (2002/C 233/57)
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                                             (Language of the case: Italian)
The present Application is brought for partial annulement of
decisions 2002/334/EC and its successor 2002/460/EC, which
places PKK upon the EU terrorist list. These decisions were
made pursuant to the challenged Regulation no 2580/2001.
                                                                          An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
On support of its conclusions, the Applicants submit the                  ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
following grounds:                                                        European Communities on 2 August 2002 by Piero Gonnelli
                                                                          and the Associazione Italiana Frantoiani Oleari (AIFO), rep-
                                                                          resented by Ugo Scuro, lawyer.
—     Failure to apply the criteria to the correct facts and/or
      have regard to the law of armed conflict where relevant.
      It is stated on this topic that the Council has imposed a
      ban upon a non-existent (recently disolved), organisation,          The applicants claim that the Court should:
      which, by definition, was incapable of being presently or
      in the future engaged in terrorism. Alternatively, if which
      is denied, the PKK is held to continue to exist as an               —    annul in its entirety Commission Regulation (EC)
      organisation, the Council wholly failed to adhere to the                 No 1019/2002 of 13 June 2002 on marketing standards
      requirement that any putative organisation required to be                for olive oil, alternatively Articles 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 thereof.