ORDER OF THE GENERAL COURT (Fifth Chamber)

29 March 2023 (*)

(Arbitration clause – Application to set aside – Stay of execution of the judgment by default)

In Case T‑242/17 RENV-OP,

SC, represented by A. Kunst, lawyer,

applicant in the main proceedings,

v

Eulex Kosovo, established in Pristina (Kosovo), represented by L.-G. Wigemark, acting as Agent, and by E. Raoult, lawyer,

defendant in the main proceedings,

THE GENERAL COURT (Fifth Chamber),

composed of J. Svenningsen, President, C. Mac Eochaidh and M. Stancu (Rapporteur), Judges,

Registrar: E. Coulon,

makes the following

Order

1        By judgment of 19 October 2022, SC v Eulex Kosovo (T‑242/17 RENV, not published, under appeal; ‘the judgment by default’, EU:T:2022:637), the General Court gave judgment in favour of the applicant in the main proceedings by default in accordance with Article 123(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court and thus ordered Eulex Kosovo to pay her compensation in respect of the material damage suffered equivalent to 19 months’ gross salary, to which the daily subsistence allowance and the salary increase was to be added, to correspond to the situation in which the final employment contract of the applicant in the main proceedings was renewed until 14 June 2018, together with compensation for the non-material damage suffered, assessed ex æquo et bono at EUR 50 000.

2        By application lodged at the Registry of the General Court on 28 November 2022, Eulex Kosovo sought to have the judgment by default set aside, pursuant to Article 166 of the Rules of Procedure.

3        By separate document lodged at the Court Registry on the same day, Eulex Kosovo requested that, in accordance with Article 123(4) of the Rules of Procedure, the General Court grant a stay of execution of the judgment by default until it had given its decision on the application to set aside. Eulex Kosovo submits, inter alia, that such a stay is necessary because of the serious reasons raised in the application to set aside as well as the disproportionate nature of the compensation awarded, which should lead the General Court to set aside the judgment by default.

4        In her observations on the application to set aside lodged at the Court Registry on 27 January 2023, the applicant in the main proceedings indicated that she did not oppose the stay of execution of the judgment by default.

5        In accordance with Article 41 of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, applicable to the General Court by virtue of Article 53 of that statute, the objection is not to have the effect of staying enforcement of the judgment by default unless the General Court decides otherwise.

6        On the other hand, Article 123(4) of the Rules of Procedure provides that, where the judgment by default is enforceable, the General Court may, however, grant a stay of execution until it has given its decision on any application under Article 166 of the Rules of Procedure to have that judgment set aside.

7        In the absence of any objections on the part of the applicant in the main proceedings, it is appropriate, having regard to the lodging of the application to set aside by Eulex Kosovo and for the proper administration of justice, to grant a stay of execution of the judgment by default until the General Court has given its decision on that application to set aside.

8        The costs are to be reserved.

On those grounds,

THE GENERAL COURT (Fifth Chamber)

hereby orders:

1.      Execution of the judgment of 19 October 2022, SC v Eulex Kosovo (T‑242/17 RENV), is stayed until a decision has been given on the application to set aside lodged by Eulex Kosovo.

2.      The costs are reserved.

Luxembourg, 29 March 2023.

*      Language of the case: English.