JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (First Chamber)

18 July 2007

Case C-213/06 P

European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR)

v

Georgios Karatzoglou

(Appeals – Temporary staff – Termination of contract)

Appeal: against the judgment of the Court of First Instance (Fourth Chamber) of 23 February 2006 in Case T-471/04 Karatzoglou v EAR [2006] ECR-SC I-A-2-000 and II-A-2-000, seeking to have that judgment set aside.

Held: the judgment is set aside and the case referred back to the Court of First Instance.

Summary

Officials – Principles – Protection of legitimate expectations

(Conditions of employment of other servants, Arts 47 to 50)

The fact that the amendment of a temporary servant’s contract created an ambiguous situation, which could have given the impression that the administration had restricted its power under Articles 47 to 50 of the Conditions of employment of other servants to terminate the contract, does not give rise to a legitimate expectation on the part of that temporary servant as to the duration of his contract. An uncertain contractual situation cannot form the basis of precise assurances on the part of the administration, which are necessary to give rise to legitimate expectations.

Nor, in that respect, is it possible to rely on the principle to the effect that the weaker party to an employment contract can expect vague provisions of the contract to be interpreted in his favour. Factors linked to a temporary servant’s contractual situation in relation to his employer cannot make up for the absence of one of the preconditions for establishing the existence of a legitimate expectation.