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Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) >> Gevaert v Commission (Staff Regulations) [2001] EUECJ C-389/98 (11 January 2001) URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/2001/C38998.html Cite as: [2001] EUECJ C-389/98, ECLI:EU:C:2001:5, EU:C:2001:5, [2001] ECR I-65, Case C-389/98 |
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JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Fifth Chamber)
11 January 2001 (1)
(Appeals - Officials - Request for review of classification in grade - Action - Expiry of time-limits - New fact - Inequality of treatment)
In Case C-389/98 P,
Hans Gevaert, an official of the Commission of the European Communities, residing in Merelbeke (Belgium), represented by N. Lhoëst, Avocat, with an address for service in Luxembourg,
appellant,
APPEAL against the order of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (First Chamber) of 19 August 1998 in Case T-160/97 Gevaert v Commission [1998] ECR-SC I-A-465 and II-1363, seeking to have that order set aside,
the other party to the proceedings being:
Commission of the European Communities, represented by G. Valsesia, C. Berardis-Kayser and F. Duvieusart-Clotuche, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg,
defendant at first instance,
THE COURT (Fifth Chamber),
composed of: D.A.O. Edward, acting as President of the Fifth Chamber, P. Jann and L. Sevón (Rapporteur), Judges,
Advocate General: P.Léger,
Registrar: L. Hewlett, Administrator,
having regard to the Report for the Hearing,
after hearing oral argument from the parties at the hearing on 15 December 1999,
after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 28 March 2000,
gives the following
Legal and factual background
'Identical conditions of recruitment and service career shall apply to all officials belonging to the same category or the same service.
'1. Candidates thus selected shall be appointed as follows:
- officials in Category A or the Language Service:
to the starting grade of their category or service;
- officials in other categories:
to the starting grade for the post for which they have been recruited.
2. However, the appointing authority may make exceptions to the foregoing provisions within the following limits:
(a) in respect of Grades A 1, A 2, A 3 and LA 3,
- up to half the appointments to posts becoming vacant;
- up to two-thirds of the appointments to newly created posts;
(b) in respect of other grades,
- up to one-third of the appointments to posts becoming vacant;
- up to half the appointments to newly created posts.
Save in respect of Grade LA 3, this provision shall be applied by groups of six posts to be filled in each grade for the purpose of this provision.
'The [appointing authority] shall appoint a probationary official in the starting grade of the career bracket to which he is recruited.
By way of exception to this principle, the appointing authority may decide to appoint a probationary official to the higher grade of the career bracket where the specific needs of the service require the recruitment of a person with particular qualifications or where the person recruited has exceptional qualifications.
- 18 January 1995: appointment as a probationary official at the Commission, as an administrative assistant in Grade B 5, Step 3, with effect from 1 September 1994, at the Commission;
- 6 June 1995: established with effect from 1 June 1995;
- 5 October 1995: date of the judgment in Alexopoulou v Commission and taking effect of the decision of 7 February 1996;
- 7 February 1996: general decision of the Commission amending the decision of 1 September 1983;
- 27 March 1996: decision of 7 February 1996 published in Administrative Notices;
- 24 June 1996: application for review of classification in grade;
- 26 August 1996: application rejected;
- 25 November 1996: complaint filed;
- 3 February 1997: decision expressly rejecting the complaint, notified on 24 February 1997;
- 23 May 1997: action initiated before the Court of First Instance.
The contested order
The appeal
Findings of the Court
First ground of appeal
Second ground of appeal
Substance of the action
Costs
59. Under the first paragraph of Article 122 of the Rules of Procedure, where the appeal is well founded and the Court of Justice itself gave final judgment in the case, the Court is to make a decision as to costs. Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, which applies to appeal proceedings by virtue of Article 118, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs if they are applied for in the successful party's pleadings. Since Mr Gevaert has applied for costs and the Commission has been unsuccessful, it must be ordered to bear its own costs and also to pay the whole of the costs incurred by Mr Gevaert before the Court of First Instance and before the Court of Justice.
On those grounds,
THE COURT (Fifth Chamber)
hereby:
1. Sets aside the order of the Court of First Instance of 19 August 1998 in Case T-160/97 Gevaert v Commission;
2. Annuls the decision of the Commission of the European Communities of 26 August 1996 rejecting Mr Gevaert's request for a review of his classification in grade;
3. Orders the Commission of the European Communities to bear all the costs of the proceedings before the Court of First Instance and the Court of Justice.
Edward |
Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 11 January 2001.
R. Grass A. La Pergola
Registrar President of the Fifth Chamber
1: Language of the case: French.