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Document 32014Q0714(03)
Practice directions to parties on judicial proceedings before the European Union Civil Service Tribunal
Practice directions to parties on judicial proceedings before the European Union Civil Service Tribunal
Practice directions to parties on judicial proceedings before the European Union Civil Service Tribunal
OJ L 206, 14.7.2014, p. 52–75
(BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)
In force
|
14.7.2014 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
L 206/52 |
PRACTICE DIRECTIONS TO PARTIES ON JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE EUROPEAN UNION CIVIL SERVICE TRIBUNAL
of 21 May 2014
Table of contents
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I. |
DEFINITIONS | 53 |
|
II. |
GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE LODGING AND SERVICE OF PROCEDURAL DOCUMENTS | 53 |
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A. |
Electronic transmission by means of e-Curia | 53 |
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B. |
Transmission in paper format | 54 |
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III. |
WRITTEN PROCEDURE | 54 |
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A. |
Application | 54 |
|
1. |
Lodging the application | 54 |
|
2. |
Mandatory information and rules on presentation of the application | 55 |
|
3. |
Putting the application in order | 56 |
|
4. |
Interim measures | 57 |
|
B. |
Defence and other procedural documents relating to the written procedure | 57 |
|
C. |
Sending an original paper document preceded by a fax | 57 |
|
D. |
Applications for confidential treatment | 58 |
|
E. |
Applications for legal aid | 58 |
|
F. |
Length of procedural documents | 59 |
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IV. |
ORAL PROCEDURE | 59 |
|
A. |
Location | 59 |
|
B. |
Preparation for the hearing | 59 |
|
C. |
Conduct of the hearing | 59 |
|
D. |
Specific features of simultaneous interpretation | 60 |
|
E. |
Suspension of the hearing for the purpose of reaching an amicable settlement | 60 |
|
F. |
End of the hearing | 60 |
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V. |
ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THESE DIRECTIONS | 61 |
THE EUROPEAN UNION CIVIL SERVICE TRIBUNAL,
having regard to Article 132 of its Rules of Procedure;
Whereas:
it is in the interests of the proper administration of justice that practice directions be issued to the parties' representatives, dealing with the manner in which procedural documents are to be submitted so as to ensure the efficient conduct of the hearing;
compliance with these directions reduces the number of requests for documents to be put in order and the risk of inadmissibility as a result of failure to comply with the rules as to form;
proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal are subject to language arrangements appropriate to a multilingual Union;
it is in the interests of the parties to proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal that the Tribunal provide concise responses to matters on which the parties' representatives wish to be better informed, and provide guidance to enable them to draft their procedural documents appropriately;
it is in the interests of the efficient conduct of proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal that practice directions be given to persons concerned regarding the submission of applications for legal aid and the conduct of the oral procedure;
in the interests of the parties themselves and of the proper administration of justice, and in order to give the Civil Service Tribunal the means to ensure that each party is granted a fair share of the time available to it to deal with the case, it is appropriate that procedural documents should be as concise as possible having regard to the nature of the facts and the complexity of the points raised. It is important, therefore, to fix the maximum length of procedural documents lodged before the Tribunal. Nevertheless, the length of procedural documents must be sufficiently flexible to take account of the special features of certain cases;
hereby decides to adopt the following Practice Directions:
I. DEFINITIONS
|
1. |
The definitions adopted in Article 1 of the Rules of Procedure shall apply equally for the purposes of these Practice Directions. |
II. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE LODGING AND SERVICE OF PROCEDURAL DOCUMENTS
|
2. |
The lodging and service (transmission) of procedural documents between the parties and the Tribunal may be effected:
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A. Electronic transmission by means of e-Curia
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3. |
Electronic transmission by means of e-Curia is characterised by:
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B. Transmission in paper format
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4. |
Transmission in paper format entails:
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III. WRITTEN PROCEDURE
A. Application
1. Lodging the application
|
5. |
Every application shall be addressed to the Registry of the Tribunal. It must comply with the provisions of Articles 45 and 50 of the Rules of Procedure. |
|
6. |
The information to be included in the application and the documents required to be annexed to it are listed in the first and second subparagraphs of Article 45(1) and (2) and Article 50 of the Rules of Procedure. |
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7. |
Articles 31(2) and the first subparagraph of Article 53(3) of the Rules of Procedure concern the certificate required to be lodged at the Registry by the applicant's lawyer and by any adviser or lawyer who may be assisting the defendant's agent. It should be noted that the principle of compulsory representation before the Tribunal is laid down by Article 19 of the Statute. With the exception of the Member States, other States which are parties to the EEA Agreement (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and the institutions of the European Union, which are represented by their agents, the parties must therefore be represented by a lawyer authorised to practise before a court of a Member State or of another State which is a party to the EEA Agreement. However, the obligation to be represented by a lawyer does not apply to the procedure for obtaining legal aid (see, in that regard, Chapter E of Title III of these Practice Directions). |
|
8. |
In addition, although no written instructions from the applicant to the lawyer representing him are required on lodging the application, any change in the number or identity of lawyer(s) (e.g. replacement of one lawyer by another, presence of an additional lawyer, withdrawal of instructions from one of the lawyers who made the application) must be communicated to the Registry in writing without delay. In the event of one lawyer being replaced by another, written authorisation is required in respect of the new lawyer. |
|
9. |
The applicant's lawyer should state clearly on the first page of the application his address, the name of his chambers or practice, where appropriate, his telephone and fax numbers and email address. Any subsequent changes in that information must be communicated to the Tribunal without delay. Under no circumstances can the applicant's own address be accepted as an address for service. |
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10. |
An application lodged by means of e-Curia need not necessarily bear a handwritten signature. However, in the case of an application lodged in paper format, the handwritten signature of the lawyer must be legible and appear at the end of the application. The absence of a signature cannot be rectified. A copy, such as a stamp, facsimile signature, photocopy, etc. will not be accepted. In the case of more than one representative, the signature of one of them will be sufficient. The signature by proxy of a person other than the applicant's representative(s) will not be accepted, even where that signatory is a member of the same chambers or practice as the representative(s). |
2. Mandatory information and rules on presentation of the application
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11. |
The language of the case shall be the language chosen for the drafting of the application, in accordance with Article 7(2) of Annex I to the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which refers to the applicable provisions concerning the language arrangements of the General Court of the European Union. |
|
12. |
In the interests both of the parties themselves and of the proper administration of justice, procedural documents should be as concise as possible having regard to the nature of the facts and complexity of the issues raised. An application must include, in accordance with Article 50(1)(e) of the Rules of Procedure, a clear summary of the relevant facts presented in chronological order, and a separate, precise and structured summary of the pleas in law and arguments of law relied on. As regards the length of the application, see Chapter F, point 49. |
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13. |
The form of order sought must be precisely worded and set out at the beginning or end of the application, and its heads of claim must be numbered. |
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14. |
The paragraphs of the text must be numbered consecutively. |
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15. |
In order to facilitate subsequent use of the application by the Tribunal, it is necessary, where there are four or more applicants, to append to the application a list of all their names and addresses, produced using word-processing software, which must be sent to the Registry by email to tfp.greffe@curia.europa.eu at the same time as the application, the case to which the list relates being clearly indicated. That list will be annexed to the original of the final decision. |
|
16. |
An application must be accompanied by a summary of the dispute, designed to facilitate the drafting of the notice prescribed by Article 51(2) of the Rules of Procedure, which will be prepared by the Registry. It must be produced separately from the annexes mentioned in the text of the application. That summary, to be contained in a document produced using word-processing software, should not be more than two pages long and must also be sent by email to tfp.greffe@curia.europa.eu, indicating clearly the case to which it relates. In principle, the summary will be available in its entirety on a special page on the website www.curia.europa.eu, to enable any person concerned to make enquiries. Accordingly, the summary of the case must satisfy certain requirements as to style which will be indicated on the relevant page of that website. |
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17. |
An application made pursuant to Article 48 of the Rules of Procedure for the name of the applicant or of other persons, or certain information, to be omitted from the publications relating to a case (anonymity) must be made by separate document and must state the reasons on which it is based. |
|
18. |
If the application is lodged after the submission of an application for legal aid (see Chapter E of Title III of these Practice Directions), the effect of which, under Article 112(5) of the Rules of Procedure, is to suspend the period prescribed for the bringing of an action, this must be pointed out at the beginning of the application. If the application is lodged after notification of the order making a decision on an application for legal aid, reference must equally be made in the application to the date on which the order was served on the applicant. |
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19. |
An application lodged by means of e-Curia shall be submitted in the form of files. To assist the Registry in handling the application, it is recommended that the practical guidance given in the e-Curia User Manual (see point 3(d) of these Practice Directions) be followed, that is:
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|
20. |
An application lodged in paper format must be submitted in such a way as to enable it to be processed electronically by the Tribunal, in particular by means of digitisation of documents and character recognition. Accordingly, in addition to the requirements set out in point 12 of these Practice Directions, the following requirements must be complied with:
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|
21. |
The pages of the application and annexes must in addition be numbered consecutively in the top right-hand corner, including any annexes and page dividers. |
|
22. |
In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 45(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the application and any annexes lodged in paper format must, in the same way as other procedural documents, be submitted together with five paper copies for the Tribunal and a copy for every other party to the proceedings (thus normally seven paper copies). The first page of each set of copies must be endorsed by the lawyer to the effect that the copies are certified true copies of the original, and must bear his signature or initials. |
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23. |
As regards the annexes, the parties should be rigorous in their selection of documents relevant for the purposes of the proceedings, in view of the material and linguistic constraints on the Tribunal and the parties. In the event of any abuse, reference is made to Article 108 of the Rules of Procedure. In particular, information to which the Tribunal has access (e.g. case-law of the Courts of the European Union cited in procedural documents) is not to be produced. The following formal requirements must be complied with:
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3. Putting the application in order
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24. |
In order to give parties the opportunity to make good any formal irregularities in an application, it is necessary, in certain circumstances, to put the application in order. The Registrar will always require an application to be put in order where the matters indicated in Article 50(6) of the Rules of Procedure and Article 8(1) of the Instructions to the Registrar have not been complied with. Failure to put the application in order may lead to the application being rejected as inadmissible. |
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25. |
Under Article 8(1) of the Instructions to the Registrar, a request for an application to be put in order may also be made, depending on the circumstances of the case, where an application is not in conformity with these Practice Directions. |
|
26. |
The Registrar shall prescribe a time-limit within which the applicant is to put the application in order, in accordance with Article 50(6) of the Rules of Procedure. |
|
27. |
In the cases referred to in point 24 above, the application will not be served on the defendant in its unaltered state. Where the application is put in order within the time-limit prescribed, the procedure will take its normal course. If the applicant fails to put the application in order, the Tribunal shall decide whether the application is admissible. |
|
28. |
In the cases referred to in point 25 above, the Registrar shall decide whether or not service should be suspended. If the applicant fails to put the application in order or challenges the request to that effect, the Registrar shall refer the matter to the President in order for a decision to be taken, in accordance with Article 8(7) of the Instructions to the Registrar. |
4. Interim measures
|
29. |
An application to suspend operation of the contested measure and for other interim measures must be made in accordance with the provisions of Article 115 of the Rules of Procedure. |
B. Defence and other procedural documents relating to the written procedure
|
30. |
The guidance notes provided in Chapter A of this title in relation to applications shall apply mutatis mutandis to other procedural documents sent to the Tribunal. |
|
31. |
The information required to be included in the defence is set out in Article 53(1) and (2) of the Rules of Procedure. The authority given by the defendant institution to its agent(s), adviser(s) and/or to a lawyer in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 19 of the Statute must be produced at the latest together with the defence, but separately from any annexes. |
|
32. |
As regards the length of the defence, see Chapter F, point 49. |
|
33. |
In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 53(3) of the Rules of Procedure, the institutions shall systematically attach to the defence copies of any measures of general application referred to in their observations which are not published in the Official Journal of the European Union, together with details of the dates on which they were adopted, on which they entered into force and, where applicable, on which they were repealed. |
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34. |
In addition, the following information must appear on the first page of any procedural document:
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|
35. |
The rules, referred to in Chapter A of this title, governing the circumstances in which a request is or may be made to put an application in order shall apply mutatis mutandis to the defence and to other procedural documents. |
C. Sending an original paper document preceded by a fax
|
36. |
The originals of all procedural documents and, more generally, any correspondence sent to the Tribunal, including requests for extensions of time, which are not transmitted to the Tribunal by means of e-Curia, must be lodged at the Registry in paper format.
In order to comply with procedural time-limits, a copy of a document may be sent to the Registry of the Tribunal by fax (fax number: + 352 4303 4453) before the original document is lodged (as allowed under the third subparagraph of Article 45(2) of the Rules of Procedure). In that case, the first page of the original document must be marked ‘Previously sent by fax on …’, so that the corresponding documents can be readily identified. |
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37. |
Under the third subparagraph of Article 45(2) of the Rules of Procedure, where a procedural document includes annexes, the copy sent to the Tribunal by fax may comprise only the document itself and the schedule of annexes. |
|
38. |
The lodging of a pleading or a procedural document by fax will be treated as complying with the relevant procedural time-limit only if the signed original of that document is received at the Registry no later than 10 days after such lodging, as specified in the third subparagraph of Article 45(2) of the Rules of Procedure. It should be borne in mind that the extension on account of distance of 10 days provided for under Article 38 of the Rules of Procedure does not apply to that time-limit. |
|
39. |
The signed original of any procedural document shall be sent without delay, immediately after the dispatch by fax, without any corrections or amendments. In the event of any discrepancy between the signed original and the copy previously lodged, only the date on which the signed original was lodged will be taken into consideration for the purposes of compliance with procedural time-limits. |
D. Applications for confidential treatment
|
40. |
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 47(2) and (3) of the Rules of Procedure, the Tribunal shall take into consideration only those documents which have been made available to the parties' representatives and on which they have been given an opportunity of expressing their views (Article 47(1) of the Rules of Procedure). |
|
41. |
Nevertheless, a party may apply for any part of the contents of the case-file which are secret or confidential:
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|
42. |
Any application for confidential treatment made pursuant to Article 44(3) or Article 87(1) of the Rules of Procedure must be made by separate document. |
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43. |
Such an application must be specific and the confidential treatment sought must be limited to what is strictly necessary. It may not in any event cover the entirety of a procedural document and may only exceptionally extend to the entirety of an annexed document. |
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44. |
An application for confidential treatment must accurately identify the particulars or passages concerned and briefly state the reasons for which each of those particulars or passages is regarded as secret or confidential. |
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45. |
The application must be accompanied by a non-confidential version of each pleading or procedural document concerned, with the confidential material deleted. If the application concerns only an annex to a procedural document, the whole of that document must be annexed to the application for confidentiality. If lodged by means of e-Curia, the annex to which an application for confidential treatment relates must be sent in a separate file. |
E. Applications for legal aid
|
46. |
Under Article 110 et seq. of the Rules of Procedure, legal aid may be granted in order to ensure effective access to justice. Such an application need not, in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 111(1) of the Rules of Procedure, be made through a lawyer. |
|
47. |
The use of the standard form annexed to these Practice Directions is compulsory in making an application for legal aid. Any request for legal aid submitted otherwise than by using the standard form will give rise to a reply from the Registrar with a reminder that the use of the standard form which will be enclosed with his reply is compulsory. The standard form can be downloaded from the website www.curia.europa.eu. |
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48. |
The application for legal aid, together with supporting documents, must be signed by the applicant for legal aid or by his lawyer. However, where the application for legal aid is lodged by means of e-Curia by the applicant's lawyer, the lawyer's signature shall not be required. Only the lawyer representing the party seeking legal aid shall be authorised to lodge the application for legal aid by means of e-Curia. |
F. Length of procedural documents
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49. |
In accordance with Article 46 of the Rules of Procedure, procedural documents lodged before the Civil Service Tribunal should not, in principle, exceed:
The maximum number of pages shall be deemed to be based on the use of paper in A4 format, with a font size of 12 in a font equivalent to ‘Times New Roman’, 1.5 line spacing and margins of at least 2.5 cm. Failure to adhere to the maximum number of pages may be permitted only in the light of the special circumstances of a case, relating in particular to the complexity of the legal or factual issues. The penalty for non-compliance shall, where appropriate, be that mentioned in Articles 50(6), 53(4), 55(3), 86(6), the second subparagraph of Article 124(5), the fourth subparagraph of Article 125(3), the third subparagraph of Article 127(4), or Article 130(7) of the Rules of Procedure. |
IV. ORAL PROCEDURE
A. Location
|
50. |
The notice to attend the public hearing always states the date, time, place and courtroom in which the hearing is to be held. If, for specific reasons (for example, if the Tribunal has summoned, to give evidence, a person who cannot express himself in the language of the case), one of the parties considers it essential that interpreters be present, for the whole hearing or for specific purposes, a reasoned request to that effect must be sent to the Tribunal as soon as the notice to attend the hearing is received, so that arrangements can be made for interpreters to be present. |
|
51. |
A map of the buildings of the Court of Justice and of available car parks may be found on the website www.curia.europa.eu. |
|
52. |
As a security measure, access to the buildings is controlled. Parties and their representatives are requested to produce their identity card, passport, professional card or some other form of photo identification. It is prudent, therefore, to arrive in good time. |
B. Preparation for the hearing
|
53. |
The representatives of the parties are summoned to the hearing by the Registry a few weeks before it takes place. Requests to postpone the date of a hearing are granted only in very exceptional circumstances. Such requests must state adequate reasons, valid for all the party's representatives, accompanied by appropriate supporting documents, and submitted to the Tribunal without delay. |
|
54. |
In good time before the hearing, the parties receive the preparatory report for the hearing drawn up by the Judge-Rapporteur. That report normally describes the subject-matter of the proceedings, the forms of order sought, the aspects on which the parties are requested to concentrate in their oral arguments, the issues of fact and of law which need to be explored in greater depth etc., and indicates the time allowed for the opening arguments of the parties' representatives. The Tribunal may also indicate its intention to examine the possibilities of an amicable settlement of the dispute at the hearing. |
|
55. |
If the representative of a party intends not to be present at the hearing, he is requested to notify the Tribunal of this as soon as possible. In those circumstances, the hearing will take place in his absence. This will also apply should the Tribunal find that a party is absent from the hearing without due notification. |
|
56. |
If the representative of a party wishes to be replaced by a qualified person not initially instructed by his client, he shall notify the Tribunal of this as soon as possible and ensure that written authorisation for that person, signed by the client, and, where appropriate, certification of the rights of audience held by the lawyer or adviser standing in for him have been submitted prior to the hearing. |
C. Conduct of the hearing
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57. |
The parties' representatives are required to appear before the Tribunal in their robes. The Tribunal always has some plain robes available should they be needed; the court usher at the hearing should be asked about this. |
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58. |
A few minutes before the start of the hearing, the parties' representatives are escorted by the court usher to the area to the rear of the courtroom to meet the judges hearing the case in order to settle arrangements for the conduct of the hearing. |
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59. |
Everyone present must stand when the members of the Tribunal enter the courtroom. The hearing then begins with the Registrar calling the case. |
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60. |
As the judges have perused the written observations, the parties' representatives are requested not to repeat in their oral arguments the content of the procedural documents exchanged, but to concentrate on the issues referred to in the preparatory report for the hearing and to answer the judges' questions. The same applies, where appropriate, to the parties themselves, if they have been asked to address the Tribunal. As the aim of the hearing is to clarify the issues of fact and of law required in order for judgment to be given on the case, the conduct of the hearing must facilitate a dialogue between the judges and the parties and their representatives. |
|
61. |
In any event, the parties' representatives have the opportunity to put forward an opening argument, for which the preparatory report for the hearing gives guidance as to the time allowed (normally 20 minutes). That period does not include the time used to answer the questions put by the judges or to reply to the other party's oral submissions. |
|
62. |
As the courtrooms are equipped with an automatic amplification system, each person addressing the Tribunal is requested to press the button on the microphone before starting to speak. The parties' representatives are likewise requested, when citing a court judgment, to give the names of the parties and references enabling the judgment to be readily identified. |
|
63. |
It must be borne in mind that documents must be lodged before the Tribunal during the written procedure. The Tribunal can accept documents submitted at the hearing only in very exceptional circumstances. The same rule applies to any evidence offered in support at the hearing. If applicable, it is prudent to bring sufficient copies. |
D. Specific features of simultaneous interpretation
|
64. |
In cases in which simultaneous interpretation is required, parties' representatives are reminded that it is generally preferable to speak freely on the basis of notes rather than to read out a text. Likewise, a series of short sentences is preferable to a long, complicated construction. |
|
65. |
If, however, oral submissions are prepared in writing, it is advisable when drafting the text to take account of the fact that it must be presented orally and should therefore resemble an oral address as closely as possible. |
|
66. |
In order to facilitate interpretation, the parties' representatives are requested to send any written text or reference documents for their oral submissions, their notes or any other reference documents, to the interpreting department in advance, so that the interpreters may include it in their preparatory study of the file (Interpreting Directorate, fax number: (+352) 4303 3697; email address: interpret@curia.europa.eu). That text will not, of course, be forwarded to the other parties or to members of the bench. |
E. Suspension of the hearing for the purpose of reaching an amicable settlement
|
67. |
At the request of the parties' representatives or on its own initiative, the Tribunal may decide to suspend the hearing for a short time where the parties' representatives wish to discuss a proposal for amicable settlement with their clients or with the other party's representative, if necessary before the Judge-Rapporteur. Should a discussion in camera be desired, a separate room can be made available. Any requests to this effect should be addressed to the Registrar or to the court usher. |
F. End of the hearing
|
68. |
The presiding member of the bench announces the end of the hearing. The parties subsequently receive brief minutes of the hearing and are subsequently notified in writing of the next steps to be taken in the proceedings, in particular of the date of delivery of the judgment. |
V. ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THESE DIRECTIONS
|
69. |
These Practice Directions shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following their publication. However, point 49, concerning the length of procedural documents and constituting the decision referred to in Article 46 of the Rules of Procedure, shall apply only where time for the lodging of a procedural document has not started to run on the date on which these Practice Directions enter into force. Where time for the lodging of a procedural document has started to run, reference should continue to be made to the information contained in the Practice Directions to Parties of 11 July 2012. |
|
70. |
The Practice Directions to Parties of 11 July 2012 (OJ 2012 L 260, p. 6) are hereby revoked and replaced by these Practice Directions. |
|
71. |
For the assistance of the parties, the Registry of the Tribunal also makes various checklists and models available on the website www.curia.europa.eu. |
Done at Luxembourg, 21 May 2014.
Registrar
W. HAKENBERG
President
S. VAN RAEPENBUSCH
ANNEX
GUIDE FOR LEGAL AID APPLICANTS AND STANDARD FORM OF APPLICATION FOR LEGAL AID
EUROPEAN UNION
CIVIL SERVICE TRIBUNAL
APPLICATION FOR LEGAL AID
GUIDE FOR APPLICANTS AND STANDARD FORM OF APPLICATION FOR LEGAL AID
I. GUIDE FOR LEGAL AID APPLICANTS (1)
A. Legal background
1. Jurisdiction of the Tribunal
Admissibility of actions before the Tribunal
Legal aid applicants should note the following provisions:
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— |
Article 270 TFEU, applicable to the EAEC Treaty pursuant to Article 106a thereof, and Article 1 of Annex I to the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, concerning the jurisdiction of the Tribunal; |
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— |
Articles 90 and 91 of the Staff Regulations, which specify a number of requirements as to the admissibility of actions before the Tribunal. |
2. Legal background in relation to legal aid
The rules concerning legal aid are contained in the Rules of Procedure.
In particular, they provide as follows:
a. Requirements for the grant of legal aid
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— |
Any person who, because of his financial situation, is wholly or partly unable to meet the costs involved in legal assistance and representation by a lawyer in proceedings before the Tribunal is to be entitled to legal aid (first subparagraph of Article 110(1) of the Rules of Procedure). |
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— |
The financial situation is to be assessed, taking into account objective factors such as income, capital and the family situation (second subparagraph of Article 110(1) of the Rules of Procedure). |
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— |
The application for legal aid must be accompanied by all information and supporting documents making it possible to assess the applicant's financial situation, such as a certificate issued by the competent national authority attesting to his financial situation (first subparagraph of Article 111(3) of the Rules of Procedure). |
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— |
An application for legal aid may be made before the action has been brought or while it is pending. The application need not be made through a lawyer (Article 111(1) of the Rules of Procedure). |
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— |
If the application is made before the action has been brought, the applicant must briefly state the subject-matter of the proposed action, the facts of the case and the arguments in support of the action. The application must be accompanied by supporting documents in that regard (second subparagraph of Article 111(3) of the Rules of Procedure). |
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— |
Legal aid is to be refused if the action in respect of which the application is made appears to be manifestly inadmissible or manifestly unfounded or if it is clear that the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear and determine that action (first subparagraph of Article 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure). |
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— |
If the circumstances which led to the grant of legal aid should alter during the proceedings, the President may at any time, of his own motion or on application, withdraw legal aid, having heard the person concerned (Article 114 of the Rules of Procedure). |
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— |
The application for legal aid must be made in accordance with the standard form which is available on the Tribunal's internet site and forms part of this guide (Article 111(2) of the Rules of Procedure). |
b. Procedure
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— |
If the person concerned has not indicated his choice of lawyer or if his choice is unacceptable, the Registrar is to send a copy of the order granting legal aid and a copy of the application to the competent authority of the Member State concerned, mentioned in the Rules supplementing the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice. The lawyer instructed to represent the applicant is to be designated having regard to the suggestions made by that authority (second subparagraph of Article 112(3) of the Rules of Procedure). |
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— |
The introduction of an application for legal aid is to suspend the period prescribed for the bringing of the action until the date of service of the order making a decision on that application or, where that order does not designate a lawyer to represent the person concerned, until the date of service of the order designating a lawyer to represent the applicant (Article 112(5) of the Rules of Procedure). |
c. Partial legal aid
An order granting legal aid may specify an amount to be paid to the lawyer instructed to represent the person concerned or fix a limit which the lawyer's disbursements and fees may not, in principle, exceed. It may provide for a contribution to be made by the person concerned to the costs referred to in Article 110(1) of the Rules of Procedure, having regard to his financial situation (Article 112(4) of the Rules of Procedure).
d. Responsibility for costs
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— |
Where, by virtue of the decision closing the proceedings, the recipient of legal aid has to bear his own costs, the President shall, by way of a reasoned order from which no appeal shall lie, fix the lawyer's disbursements and fees which are to be paid by the cashier of the Tribunal (Article 113(2) of the Rules of Procedure). |
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Where, in the decision closing the proceedings, the Tribunal has ordered another party to pay the costs of the recipient of legal aid, that other party shall be required to refund to the cashier of the Tribunal any sums advanced by way of aid (first subparagraph of Article 113(3) of the Rules of Procedure). |
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Where the recipient of the legal aid is unsuccessful, the Tribunal may, in ruling as to costs in the decision closing the proceedings, if equity so requires, order that one or more parties should bear their own costs or that those costs should be borne, in whole or in part, by the cashier of the Tribunal by way of legal aid (Article 113(4) of the Rules of Procedure). |
B. Procedure for submission of an application for legal aid
In accordance with point 47 of the Practice Directions to Parties, every application for legal aid must be submitted using the standard form below. Any request for legal aid submitted otherwise than by using the standard form will not be taken into consideration.
As stated in point 48 of the Practice Directions to Parties, an application for legal aid lodged by means of e-Curia may be lodged only by the lawyer representing the party seeking legal aid.
In the case of transmission in paper format, dispatch of the original application may be preceded by dispatch by fax. The date on which the fax is sent will then be taken into account for the purposes of the suspension of the time-limit for bringing proceedings, provided that the original is received at the Tribunal within 10 days of dispatch of the fax.
The original of the application for legal aid must be signed by the applicant himself or by his lawyer, failing which the application will not be taken into consideration and the document will be returned. However, where the applicant's lawyer lodges the application for legal aid by means of e-Curia, the lawyer's signature is not required.
If the application for legal aid is submitted by the applicant's lawyer before the application initiating proceedings is lodged, the legal aid application must be accompanied by documents certifying that the lawyer is authorised to practise before a court of a Member State or of another State which is a party to the EEA Agreement.
C. Effect of proper lodging of an application for legal aid before the action has been brought
Where an application for legal aid is properly lodged before the action has been brought, the period prescribed for the bringing of the action will be suspended until the date of service of the order making a decision on that application or of the order designating a lawyer to represent the applicant for legal aid. Time for the purposes of bringing an action will not run, therefore, while the application for legal aid is being considered by the Tribunal. It is prudent to submit such an application in good time in order to ensure that the remaining period within which an action may be brought is not too short.
D. Contents of the application for legal aid and supporting documents
1. Applicant's financial situation
The application must be accompanied by all information and supporting documents making it possible to assess the applicant's financial situation at the time when the application is made, such as a certificate issued by the competent national authority attesting to his financial situation.
Documents may include, for example:
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certificates issued by social security or unemployment benefit authorities; |
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declarations of income or tax notices; |
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salary slips; |
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bank statements. |
Sworn statements made and signed by the applicant himself are not sufficient proof that he is wholly or partly unable to meet the costs of the proceedings.
The information given on the application for legal aid concerning the applicant's financial situation and the documents lodged in support of the information provided should give a complete picture of his financial situation.
Applicants should note that they should not confine themselves to providing the Tribunal with details of their resources; they should also provide the Tribunal with information which will enable the Tribunal to assess the capital held.
An application which does not establish to the requisite legal standard the applicant's inability to meet the costs of the proceedings will be rejected.
The applicant is required to notify the Tribunal at the earliest possible opportunity of any change in his financial situation which might justify the application of Article 114 of the Rules of Procedure, according to which, if the circumstances which led to the grant of legal aid should alter during the proceedings, the President may at any time, of his own motion or on application, withdraw legal aid, having heard the person concerned.
2. Subject-matter of the proposed action, facts of the case and arguments in support of the action
If the application for legal aid is made before the action has been brought, the applicant must briefly state the subject-matter of the proposed action, the facts of the case and the arguments which he intends to put forward in support of his action. The standard form of application for legal aid includes a section for that purpose.
A copy of any supporting document that is relevant for the purposes of assessing whether the proposed action is admissible and well founded must be annexed to the form; for example:
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if applicable, the measure which the applicant seeks to have annulled; |
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if applicable, the complaint within the meaning of Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations and the decision responding to the complaint, together with the dates on which the complaint was submitted and the decision notified; |
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if applicable, the request within the meaning of Article 90(1) of the Staff Regulations and the decision responding to the request, together with the dates on which the request was submitted and the decision notified; |
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correspondence with the prospective defendant. |
3. Other useful information
No original documents will be returned. The applicant is therefore advised to supply photocopies of supporting documents.
An application may not be supplemented by the subsequent lodging of addenda. Such addenda will be returned, unless they have been lodged at the request of the Tribunal. It is essential, therefore, to supply all necessary information on the application for legal aid and to attach copies of any documentary proof of the information supplied. In exceptional cases, documents intended to establish that the legal aid applicant is wholly or partly unable to meet the costs of the proceedings may nevertheless be accepted subsequently, subject to the delay in their production being justified.
If the space available in any section of the standard form of application for legal aid is insufficient, that section may be completed on a separate page attached to the application.
II. STANDARD FORM OF APPLICATION FOR LEGAL AID
(1) This guide is an integral part of the standard form of application for legal aid. The information which it contains is taken from the Rules of Procedure of the Civil Service Tribunal and the Practice Directions to Parties.