ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

23 November 1994

Case T-356/94 R

Sergio Vecchi

Commission of the European Communities

‛Officials — Proceedings for interim relief — Interim measures’

Application for:

interim measures in the form of suspension of the operation of the decision appointing Mr K to the post of head of the Commission's delegation in Kazakhstan.

Decision:

Application dismissed.

Abstract of the Order

The Commission rejected the applicant's application for the post of head of die Commission's delegation in Kazakhstan. It appointed Mr K to the post in question. The applicant brought an action for die annulment of the decision appointing Mr K and by the present application for interim relief seeks suspension of its operation.

The application for suspension of the operation of the decision

The President of the Court of First Instance points out that the judge hearing an application for interim measures must assess the urgency of adopting such measures by examining whether implementation of the contested act, before a decision is made on the substance, is capable of causing the party making the application irreparable harm which could not be remedied even if the Court of First Instance were subsequently to annul the contested decision. In any event, the interim measures sought must not, despite their provisional nature, be out of proportion to the defendant institution's interest in having its act implemented, even where that act forms the subject-matter of an action (paragraph 17).

See: T-589/93 R Ryan-Sheridan v FEACVT [1994] ECRSC II-257, para. 19

The President of the Court of First Instance observes that, having regard to the material in the case-file and, in particular, to the conditions set out in the notice of vacancy and the information disclosed by Mr K's curriculum vitae, the applicant's claim that, by appointing Mr K, the Commission infringed the notice of vacancy, does not appear to be entirely unfounded. However, at this stage in the procedure and again having regard to the material in the case-file, it likewise cannot be regarded as established that the applicant fulfils all the conditions set out in the notice of vacancy (paragraph 19).

In those circumstances, the judge hearing the application for interim measures cannot infer that the applicant possesses an interest sufficiently serious to support a finding that, if the operation of the contested decision is not suspended, he might suffer serious and irreparable harm if the main proceedings were to be pursued (paragraph 20).

Even if the Court of First Instance were to annul the decision appointing Mr K and if, meanwhile, the latter acquired special experience in the field of relations with Kazakhstan, it is by no means certain that the applicant's chances of success in a new procedure for filling the post in question would be any different from those in the procedure in dispute (paragraph 21).

In any event, as regards the balancing of the interests in question, the President of the Court of First Instance observes that, with respect to the interests represented by the Commission, the harm which would result from the suspension of the operation of the contested decision making the appointment would be considerable, in view of the importance of filling the vacancy in question without delay (paragraph 22).

In those circumstances, the President of the Court of First Instance dismisses the application for interim measures and considers it unnecessary to examine whether the applicant's pleas in law and arguments in support of the main application are prima facie well founded (paragraph 23).

Operative part:

The application for interim measures is dismissed.