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Officials ° Pensions ° Pension rights acquired before entering the service of the Communities ° Transfer to the Community scheme ° Fixing by the general provisions of a time-limit for submission of request ° Whether permissible ° Administrative practice entailing extinction of rights on expiry of time-limit laid down ° Unlawful
(Staff Regulations, Annex VIII, Art. 11(2))
For the exercise of the option provided for in Article 11(2) of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations to transfer to the Community scheme pension rights acquired under a national scheme, the administration cannot lay down conditions which are stricter than those provided for in the general provisions for giving effect to that article. Accordingly, the administration is not entitled to reject a request for the transfer of pension rights on the sole basis of the existence of a time-bar for the submission of the request where the general provisions for giving effect to Article 11(2) provide for that purpose only a straightforward time-limit, without ascertaining whether the special reasons put forward by the official concerned and beyond his control might justify the late submission of his application.