Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 13 June 2012 —
Insula v Commission

(Case T-246/09)

Arbitration clause — Financing contracts for research and development projects — MEDIS and Dias.Net contracts — Lack of supporting documents and non-compliance with the contractual requirements in respect of some of the declared expenses — Retention of a sum intended for another co-contractor — Reimbursement of sums advanced — Partial inadmissibility of the action — Counterclaim by the Commission — Partial removal of need to adjudicate in relation to the counterclaim

1.                     Proceedings — Referral to the General Court under an arbitration clause — Contract providing for Community financial assistance for a research and development project — Claim for repayment of certain costs — Claim for damages — Counterclaim with claim for default interest — Application of national law — Finding of non-compliance with contractual obligations — Commission’s right to repayment of the advance, plus default interest at the rate applied by the European Central Bank (Art. 238 EC) (see paras 87, 124, 213-216, 288)

2.                     Proceedings — Referral to the General Court under an arbitration clause — Contract subject to national law — Application of national provisions on jurisdiction — Exclusion (Art. 238 EC) (see para. 88)

3.                     Proceedings — Referral to the General Court under an arbitration clause — Action challenging the basis of the debt of an institution to its co-contractors — Decision of that institution adopted for the purposes of recovering that debt — Decision constituting writ of execution — Legal nature of such a decision defined by the EC Treaty — Challengeable act on the basis of Article 230 EC (Arts 230 EC, 238 EC and 256 EC; Council Regulation No 1605/2002, Art. 72(2)) (see paras 93-96)

4.                     Proceedings — Subject-matter of the dispute — Alteration once proceedings have been started — Alteration of the pleas of the action following the adoption of a decision by the defendant institution — Alteration concerning the nature of the action — Prohibition (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 48(2)) (see paras 100-104)

5.                     Proceedings — Referral to the General Court under an arbitration clause — Action challenging the basis of the debt of an institution to its co-contractors — Counterclaim claiming recovery of that debt — Adoption, during the proceedings, of a decision by that institution to recover the same debt — Interest of the applicant and the defendant in maintaining their claims (Art. 238 EC) (see paras 113-116, 294-302)

6.                     Proceedings — Production of evidence — Time-limit — Evidence lodged out of time — Conditions (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 48(1)) (see para. 143)

7.                     Proceedings — Introduction of new pleas during the proceedings — Conditions — Amplification of an existing plea and close link with the latter (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Arts 44(1)(c), and 48(2)) (see para. 199)

8.                     Proceedings — Application initiating proceedings — Formal requirements — Identification of the subject-matter of the dispute — Brief summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based — Action for compensation for damage caused by a Community institution — Application seeking compensation in the abstract with no explanation in that regard — Inadmissible (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 44(1)(c)) (see paras 221, 262, 270)

Re:

Operative part

The Court: