CONSOLIDATED VERSION OF THE

RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE

of 19 June 1991  (1)

CONTENTS

Interpretation (article 1)

Title I

— Organisation of the Court

Chapter 1

— Judges and Advocates General (Articles 2 to 6)

Chapter 2

— Presidency of the Court and constitution of the Chambers (Articles 7 to 11)

Chapter 2a

— Formations of the Court (Articles 11a to 11e)

Chapter 3

— Registry

Section 1

— The Registrar and Assistant Registrars (Articles 12 to 19)

Section 2

— Other departments (Articles 20 to 23)

Chapter 4

— Assistant Rapporteurs (Article 24)

Chapter 5

— The working of the Court (Articles 25 to 28)

Chapter 6

— Languages (Articles 29 to 31)

Chapter 7

— Rights and obligations of agents, advisers and lawyers (Articles 32 to 36)

Title II

— Procedure

Chapter 1

— Written procedure (Articles 37 to 43)

Chapter 1a

— The preliminary report and assignment of cases to formations (Articles 44 and 44a)

Chapter 2

— Preparatory inquiries and other preparatory measures

Section 1

— Measures of inquiry (Articles 45 and 46)

Section 2

— The summoning and examination of witnesses and experts (Articles 47 to 53)

Section 3

— Closure of the preparatory inquiry (Article 54)

Section 4

— Preparatory measures (Article 54a)

Chapter 3

— Oral procedure (Articles 55 to 62)

Chapter 3a

— Expedited procedures (Article 62a)

Chapter 4

— Judgments (Articles 63 to 68)

Chapter 5

— Costs (Articles 69 to 75)

Chapter 6

— Legal aid (Article 76)

Chapter 7

— Discontinuance (Articles 77 and 78)

Chapter 8

— Service (Article 79)

Chapter 9

— Time-limits (Articles 80 to 82)

Chapter 10

— Stay of proceedings (Article 82a)

Title III

— Special forms of procedure

Chapter 1

— Suspension of operation or enforcement and other interim measures (Articles 83 to 90)

Chapter 2

— Preliminary issues (Articles 91 and 92)

Chapter 3

— Intervention (Article 93)

Chapter 4

— Judgments by default and applications to set them aside (Article 94)

Chapter 5

— (Articles 95 and 96 repealed)

Chapter 6

— Exceptional review procedures

Section 1

— Third-party proceedings (Article 97)

Section 2

— Revision (Articles 98 to 100)

Chapter 7

— Appeals against decisions of the Arbitration Committee (Article 101)

Chapter 8

— Interpretation of judgments (Article 102)

Chapter 9

— Preliminary rulings and other references for interpretation (Articles 103 to 104b)

Chapter 10

— Special procedures under Articles 103 TEAEC to 105 TEAEC (Articles 105 and 106)

Chapter 11

— Opinions (Articles 107 and 108; Article 109 repealed)

Chapter 12

— (Article 109a repealed)

Chapter 13

— Settlement of the disputes referred to in Article 35 of the Union Treaty in the version in force before the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon (Article 109b)

Title IV

— Appeals against decisions of the General Court (Articles 110 to 123)

Title IVa

— Review of decisions of the General Court (Articles 123a to 123e)

Title V

— Procedures provided for by the EEA Agreement (Articles 123f and 123g)

Miscellaneous provisions (Articles 124 to 127)

Annex

— Decision on official holidays

INTERPRETATION

Article 1

In these Rules:

—	provisions of the Treaty on European Union are referred to by the number of the article followed by ‘TEU’,

—	provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union are referred to by the number of the article concerned followed by ‘TFEU’,

—	provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community are referred to by the number of the article followed by ‘TEAEC’,

—	‘Statute’ means the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union,

—	‘EEA Agreement’ means the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

For the purposes of these Rules:

—	‘institutions’ means the institutions of the Union and bodies, offices and agencies established by the Treaties, or by an act adopted in implementation thereof, which may be parties before the Court,

—	‘EFTA Surveillance Authority’ means the surveillance authority referred to in the EEA Agreement.

TITLE 1

ORGANISATION OF THE COURT

Chapter 1

JUDGES AND ADVOCATES GENERAL

Article 2

The term of office of a Judge shall begin on the date laid down in his instrument of appointment. In the absence of any provisions regarding the date, the term shall begin on the date of the instrument.

Article 3

1.   Before taking up his duties, a Judge shall at the first public sitting of the Court which he attends after his appointment take the following oath:

2.   Immediately after taking the oath, a Judge shall sign a declaration by which he solemnly undertakes that, both during and after his term of office, he will respect the obligations arising therefrom, and in particular the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after he has ceased to hold office, of certain appointments and benefits.

Article 4

When the Court is called upon to decide whether a Judge no longer fulfils the requisite conditions or no longer meets the obligations arising from his office, the President shall invite the Judge concerned to make representations to the Court, in closed session and in the absence of the Registrar.

Article 5

Articles 2, 3 and 4 of these Rules shall apply to Advocates General.

Article 6

Judges and Advocates General shall rank equally in precedence according to their seniority in office.

Where there is equal seniority in office, precedence shall be determined by age.

Retiring Judges and Advocates General who are reappointed shall retain their former precedence.

Chapter 2

PRESIDENCY OF THE COURT AND CONSTITUTION OF THE CHAMBERS

Article 7

1.   The Judges shall, immediately after the partial replacement provided for in Article 253 TFEU, elect one of their number as President of the Court for a term of three years.

2.   If the office of the President of the Court falls vacant before the normal date of expiry thereof, the Court shall elect a successor for the remainder of the term.

3.   The elections provided for in this Article shall be by secret ballot. The Judge obtaining the votes of more than half the Judges composing the Court shall be elected. If no Judge obtains that majority, further ballots shall be held until that majority is attained.

Article 8

The President shall direct the judicial business and the administration of the Court; he shall preside at hearings and deliberations.

Article 9

1.   The Court shall set up Chambers of five and three Judges in accordance with Article 16 of the Statute and shall decide which Judges shall be attached to them.

The Court shall designate the Chamber or Chambers of five Judges which, for a period of one year, shall be responsible for cases of the kind referred to in Article 104b.

The composition of the Chambers and the designation of the Chamber or Chambers responsible for cases of the kind referred to in Article 104b shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.   As soon as an application initiating proceedings has been lodged, the President shall designate a Judge to act as Rapporteur.

For cases of the kind referred to in Article 104b, the Judge-Rapporteur shall be selected from among the Judges of the Chamber designated in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, on a proposal from the President of that Chamber. If the Chamber decides that the case is not to be dealt with under the urgent procedure, the President of the Court may reassign the case to a Judge-Rapporteur attached to another Chamber.

The President of the Court shall take the necessary steps if a Judge-Rapporteur is absent or prevented from acting.

3.   For cases assigned to a formation of the Court in accordance with Article 44(3), the word ‘Court’ in these Rules shall mean that formation.

4.   In cases assigned to a Chamber of five or three Judges, the powers of the President of the Court shall be exercised by the President of the Chamber.

Article 10

1.   The Judges shall, immediately after the election of the President of the Court, elect the Presidents of the Chambers of five Judges for a term of three years.

The Judges shall elect the Presidents of the Chambers of three Judges for a term of one year.

The Court shall appoint for a period of one year the First Advocate General.

The provisions of Article 7(2) and (3) shall apply.

The elections and appointment made in pursuance of this paragraph shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.   The First Advocate General shall assign each case to an Advocate General as soon as the Judge-Rapporteur has been designated by the President. He shall take the necessary steps if an Advocate General is absent or prevented from acting.

Article 11

When the President of the Court is absent or is prevented from attending or when the office of President is vacant, the functions of President shall be exercised by a President of a Chamber of five Judges according to the order of precedence laid down in Article 6 of these Rules.

When the President of the Court and the Presidents of the Chambers of five Judges are all absent or prevented from attending at the same time, or their posts are vacant at the same time, the functions of President shall be exercised by one of the Presidents of the Chambers of three Judges according to the order of precedence laid down in Article 6 of these Rules.

If the President of the Court and all the Presidents of Chambers are all absent or prevented from attending at the same time, or their posts are vacant at the same time, the functions of President shall be exercised by one of the other Judges according to the order of precedence laid down in Article 6 of these Rules.

Chapter 2 a

FORMATIONS OF THE COURT

Article 11a

The Court shall sit in the following formations:

—	the full Court, composed of all the Judges;

—	the Grand Chamber, composed of 13 Judges in accordance with Article 11b,

—	Chambers composed of five or three Judges in accordance with Article 11c.

Article 11b

1.   For each case the Grand Chamber shall be composed of the President of the Court, the Presidents of the Chambers of five Judges, the Judge-Rapporteur and the number of Judges necessary to reach 13. The last-mentioned Judges shall be designated from the list referred to in paragraph 2, following the order laid down therein. The starting-point on that list, in every case assigned to the Grand Chamber, shall be the name of the Judge immediately following the last Judge designated from the list for the preceding case assigned to that formation of the Court.

2.   After the election of the President of the Court and of the Presidents of the Chambers of five Judges, a list of the other Judges shall be drawn up for the purposes of determining the composition of the Grand Chamber. That list shall follow the order laid down in Article 6 of these Rules, alternating with the reverse order: the first Judge on that list shall be the first according to the order laid down in that Article, the second Judge shall be the last according to that order, the third Judge shall be the second according to that order, the fourth Judge the penultimate according to that order, and so on.

The list shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

3.   In cases which are assigned to the Grand Chamber between the beginning of a year in which there is a partial replacement of Judges and the moment when that replacement has taken place, two substitute Judges shall also sit. Those substitute Judges shall be the two Judges appearing in the list referred to in the previous paragraph immediately after the last Judge designated for the composition of the Grand Chamber in the case.

The substitute Judges shall replace, in the order of the list referred to in the previous paragraph, such Judges as are unable to take part in the decision on the case.

Article 11c

1.   The Chambers of five Judges and three Judges shall, for each case, be composed of the President of the Chamber, the Judge-Rapporteur and the number of Judges required to attain the number of five and three Judges respectively. Those last-mentioned Judges shall be designated from the lists referred to in paragraph 2 and following the order laid down in them. The starting-point in those lists, for every case assigned to a Chamber, shall be the name of the Judge immediately following the last Judge designated from the list for the preceding case assigned to the Chamber concerned.

2.   For the composition of the Chambers of five Judges, after the election of the Presidents of those Chambers lists shall be drawn up including all the Judges attached to the Chamber concerned, with the exception of its President. The lists shall be drawn up in the same way as the list referred to in Article 11b(2).

For the composition of the Chambers of three Judges, after the election of the Presidents of those Chambers lists shall be drawn up including all the Judges attached to the Chamber concerned, with the exception of its President. The lists shall be drawn up according to the order laid down in Article 6 of these Rules.

The lists referred to in this paragraph shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 11d

1.   Where the Court considers that several cases must be heard and determined together by one and the same formation of the Court, the composition of that formation shall be that fixed for the case in respect of which the preliminary report was first examined.

2.   Where a Chamber to which a case has been assigned refers the case back to the Court under Article 44(4), in order that it may be reassigned to a formation composed of a greater number of Judges, that formation shall include the members of the Chamber which has referred the case back.

Article 11e

When a member of the formation determining a case is prevented from attending, he shall be replaced by a Judge according to the order of the lists referred to in Article 11b(2) or 11c(2).

When the President of the Court is prevented from attending, the functions of the President of the Grand Chamber shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions of Article 11.

When the President of a Chamber of five Judges is prevented from attending, the functions of President of the Chamber shall be exercised by a President of a Chamber of three Judges, where necessary according to the order laid down in Article 6 of these Rules or, if that Chamber does not include a President of a Chamber of three Judges, by one of the other Judges according to the order laid down in Article 6.

When the President of a Chamber of three Judges is prevented from attending, the functions of President of the Chamber shall be exercised by a Judge of that Chamber according to the order laid down in Article 6 of these Rules.

Chapter 3

REGISTRY

Section 1 — The Registrar and Assistant Registrars

Article 12

1.   The Court shall appoint the Registrar.

Two weeks before the date fixed for making the appointment, the President shall inform the Members of the Court of the applications which have been made for the post.

2.   An application shall be accompanied by full details of the candidate's age, nationality, university degrees, knowledge of any languages, present and past occupations and experience, if any, in judicial and international fields.

3.   The appointment shall be made following the procedure laid down in Article 7(3) of these Rules.

4.   The Registrar shall be appointed for a term of six years. He may be reappointed.

5.   The Registrar shall take the oath in accordance with Article 3 of these Rules.

6.   The Registrar may be deprived of his office only if he no longer fulfils the requisite conditions or no longer meets the obligations arising from his office; the Court shall take its decision after giving the Registrar an opportunity to make representations.

7.   If the office of Registrar falls vacant before the normal date of expiry of the term thereof, the Court shall appoint a new Registrar for a term of six years.

Article 13

The Court may, following the procedure laid down in respect of the Registrar, appoint one or more Assistant Registrars to assist the Registrar and to take his place in so far as the Instructions to the Registrar referred to in Article 15 of these Rules allow.

Article 14

Where the Registrar and the Assistant Registrars are absent or prevented from attending or their posts are vacant, the President shall designate an official or other servant to carry out temporarily the duties of Registrar.

Article 15

Instructions to the Registrar shall be adopted by the Court acting on a proposal from the President.

Article 16

1.   There shall be kept in the Registry, under the control of the Registrar, a register in which all pleadings and supporting documents shall be entered in the order in which they are lodged.

2.   When a document has been registered, the Registrar shall make a note to that effect on the original and, if a party so requests, on any copy submitted for the purpose.

3.   Entries in the register and the notes provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be authentic.

4.   Rules for keeping the register shall be prescribed by the Instructions to the Registrar referred to in Article 15 of these Rules.

5.   Persons having an interest may consult the register at the Registry and may obtain copies or extracts on payment of a charge on a scale fixed by the Court on a proposal from the Registrar.

The parties to a case may on payment of the appropriate charge also obtain copies of pleadings and authenticated copies of judgments and orders.

6.   Notice shall be given in the Official Journal of the European Union of the date of registration of an application initiating proceedings, the names and addresses of the parties, the subject-matter of the proceedings, the form of order sought by the applicant and a summary of the pleas in law and of the main supporting arguments.

7.   Where the Council or the European Commission is not a party to a case, the Court shall send to it copies of the application and of the defence, without the annexes thereto, to enable it to assess whether the inapplicability of one of its acts is being invoked under Article 277 TFEU. Copies of that act shall likewise be sent to the European Parliament, to enable it to assess whether the inapplicability of an act adopted jointly by that institution and by the Council is being invoked under Article 277 TFEU.

Article 17

1.   The Registrar shall be responsible, under the authority of the President, for the acceptance, transmission and custody of documents and for effecting service as provided for by these Rules.

2.   The Registrar shall assist the Court, the President and the Presidents of Chambers and the Judges in all their official functions.

Article 18

The Registrar shall have custody of the seals. He shall be responsible for the records and be in charge of the publications of the Court.

Article 19

Subject to Articles 4 and 27 of these Rules, the Registrar shall attend the sittings of the Court and of the Chambers.

Section 2 — Other departments

Article 20

1.   The officials and other servants of the Court shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Staff Regulations.

2.   Before taking up his duties, an official shall take the following oath before the President, in the presence of the Registrar:

Article 21

The organisation of the departments of the Court shall be laid down, and may be modified, by the Court on a proposal from the Registrar.

Article 22

The Court shall set up a translating service staffed by experts with adequate legal training and a thorough knowledge of several official languages of the Court.

Article 23

The Registrar shall be responsible, under the authority of the President, for the administration of the Court, its financial management and its accounts; he shall be assisted in this by an administrator.

Chapter 4

ASSISTANT RAPPORTEURS

Article 24

1.   Where the Court is of the opinion that the consideration of and preparatory inquiries in cases before it so require, it shall, pursuant to Article 13 of the Statute, propose the appointment of Assistant Rapporteurs.

2.   Assistant Rapporteurs shall in particular:

—	assist the President in connection with applications for the adoption of interim measures and

—	assist the Judge-Rapporteurs in their work.

3.   In the performance of their duties the Assistant Rapporteurs shall be responsible to the President of the Court, the President of a Chamber or a Judge-Rapporteur, as the case may be.

4.   Before taking up his duties, an Assistant Rapporteur shall take before the Court the oath set out in Article 3 of these Rules.

Chapter 5

THE WORKING OF THE COURT

Article 25

1.   The dates and times of the sittings of the Grand Chamber and of the full Court shall be fixed by the President.

2.   The dates and times of the sittings of the Chambers of five and three Judges shall be fixed by their respective Presidents.

3.   The Court may choose to hold one or more sittings in a place other than that in which the Court has its seat.

Article 26

1.   Where, by reason of a Judge being absent or prevented from attending, there is an even number of Judges, the most junior Judge within the meaning of Article 6 of these Rules shall abstain from taking part in the deliberations unless he is the Judge-Rapporteur. In that case the Judge immediately senior to him shall abstain from taking part in the deliberations.

2.   If after the Grand Chamber or full Court has been convened it is found that the quorum referred to in the third or fourth paragraph of Article 17 of the Statute has not been attained, the President shall adjourn the sitting until there is a quorum.

3.   If in any Chamber of five or three Judges the quorum referred to in the second paragraph of Article 17 of the Statute has not been attained and it is not possible to replace the Judges prevented from attending in accordance with Article 11e, the President of that Chamber shall so inform the President of the Court who shall designate another Judge to complete the Chamber.

Article 27

1.   The Court shall deliberate in closed session.

2.   Only those Judges who were present at the oral proceedings and the Assistant Rapporteur, if any, entrusted with the consideration of the case may take part in the deliberations.

3.   Every Judge taking part in the deliberations shall state his opinion and the reasons for it.

4.   Any Judge may require that any questions be formulated in the language of his choice and communicated in writing to the Court before being put to the vote.

5.   The conclusions reached by the majority of the Judges after final discussion shall determine the decision of the Court. Votes shall be cast in reverse order to the order of precedence laid down in Article 6 of these Rules.

6.   Differences of view on the substance, wording or order of questions or on the interpretation of the voting shall be settled by decision of the Court.

7.   Where the deliberations of the Court concern questions of its own administration, the Advocates General shall take part and have a vote. The Registrar shall be present, unless the Court decides to the contrary.

8.   Where the Court sits without the Registrar being present it shall, if necessary, instruct the most junior Judge within the meaning of Article 6 of these Rules to draw up minutes. The minutes shall be signed by that Judge and by the President.

Article 28

1.   Subject to any special decision of the Court, its vacations shall be as follows:

—	from 18 December to 10 January,

—	from the Sunday before Easter to the second Sunday after Easter,

—	from 15 July to 15 September.

During the vacations, the functions of President shall be exercised at the place where the Court has its seat either by the President himself, keeping in touch with the Registrar, or by a President of Chamber or other Judge invited by the President to take his place.

2.   In a case of urgency, the President may convene the Judges and the Advocates General during the vacations.

3.   The Court shall observe the official holidays of the place where it has its seat.

4.   The Court may, in proper circumstances, grant leave of absence to any Judge or Advocate General.

Chapter 6

LANGUAGES

Article 29

1.   The language of a case shall be Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish or Swedish.

2.   The language of a case shall be chosen by the applicant, except that:

(a)	where the defendant is a Member State or a natural or legal person having the nationality of a Member State, the language of the case shall be the official language of that State; where that State has more than one official language, the applicant may choose between them;

(b)	at the joint request of the parties, the use of another of the languages mentioned in paragraph 1 for all or part of the proceedings may be authorised;

(c)

at the request of one of the parties, and after the opposite party and the Advocate General have been heard, the use of another of the languages mentioned in paragraph 1 as the language of the case for all or part of the proceedings may be authorised by way of derogation from subparagraphs (a) and (b); such a request may not be submitted by an institution of the European Union.

In cases to which Article 103 of these Rules applies, the language of the case shall be the language of the national court or tribunal which refers the matter to the Court. At the duly substantiated request of one of the parties to the main proceedings, and after the opposite party and the Advocate General have been heard, the use of another of the languages mentioned in paragraph 1 may be authorised for the oral procedure.

Requests as above may be decided on by the President; the latter may, and where he wishes to accede to a request without the agreement of all the parties, must, refer the request to the Court.

3.   The language of the case shall in particular be used in the written and oral pleadings of the parties and in supporting documents, and also in the minutes and decisions of the Court.

Any supporting documents expressed in another language must be accompanied by a translation into the language of the case.

In the case of lengthy documents, translations may be confined to extracts. However, the Court may, of its own motion or at the request of a party, at any time call for a complete or fuller translation.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, a Member State shall be entitled to use its official language when intervening in a case before the Court or when taking part in any reference of a kind mentioned in Article 103. This provision shall apply both to written statements and to oral addresses. The Registrar shall cause any such statement or address to be translated into the language of the case.

The States, other than the Member States, which are parties to the EEA Agreement, and also the EFTA Surveillance Authority, may be authorised to use one of the languages mentioned in paragraph 1, other than the language of the case, when they intervene in a case before the Court or participate in preliminary ruling proceedings envisaged by Article 23 of the Statute. This provision shall apply both to written statements and oral addresses. The Registrar shall cause any such statement or address to be translated into the language of the case.

Non-member States taking part in proceedings for a preliminary ruling pursuant to the fourth paragraph of Article 23 of the Statute may be authorised to use one of the languages mentioned in paragraph (1) of this Article other than the language of the case. This provision shall apply both to written statements and to oral statements. The Registrar shall cause any such statement or address to be translated into the language of the case.

4.   Where a witness or expert states that he is unable adequately to express himself in one of the languages referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article, the Court may authorise him to give his evidence in another language. The Registrar shall arrange for translation into the language of the case.

5.   The President of the Court and the Presidents of Chambers in conducting oral proceedings, the Judge-Rapporteur both in his preliminary report and in his report for the hearing, Judges and Advocates General in putting questions and Advocates General in delivering their opinions may use one of the languages referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article other than the language of the case. The Registrar shall arrange for translation into the language of the case.

Article 30

1.   The Registrar shall, at the request of any Judge, of the Advocate General or of a party, arrange for anything said or written in the course of the proceedings before the Court to be translated into the languages he chooses from those referred to in Article 29(1).

2.   Publications of the Court shall be issued in the languages referred to in Article 1 of Council Regulation No 1.

Article 31

The texts of documents drawn up in the language of the case or in any other language authorised by the Court pursuant to Article 29 of these Rules shall be authentic.

Chapter 7

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF AGENTS, ADVISERS AND LAWYERS

Article 32

1.   Agents, advisers and lawyers appearing before the Court or before any judicial authority to which the Court has addressed letters rogatory, shall enjoy immunity in respect of words spoken or written by them concerning the case or the parties.

2.   Agents, advisers and lawyers shall enjoy the following further privileges and facilities:

(a)

papers and documents relating to the proceedings shall be exempt from both search and seizure; in the event of a dispute the customs officials or police may seal those papers and documents; they shall then be immediately forwarded to the Court for inspection in the presence of the Registrar and of the person concerned;

(b)	agents, advisers and lawyers shall be entitled to such allocation of foreign currency as may be necessary for the performance of their duties;

(c)	agents, advisers and lawyers shall be entitled to travel in the course of duty without hindrance.

Article 33

In order to qualify for the privileges, immunities and facilities specified in Article 32, persons entitled to them shall furnish proof of their status as follows:

(a)	agents shall produce an official document issued by the party for whom they act, and shall forward without delay a copy thereof to the Registrar;

(b)	advisers and lawyers shall produce a certificate signed by the Registrar. The validity of this certificate shall be limited to a specified period, which may be extended or curtailed according to the length of the proceedings.

Article 34

The privileges, immunities and facilities specified in Article 32 of these Rules are granted exclusively in the interests of the proper conduct of proceedings.

The Court may waive the immunity where it considers that the proper conduct of proceedings will not be hindered thereby.

Article 35

1.   If the Court considers that the conduct of an adviser or lawyer towards the Court, a Judge, an Advocate General or the Registrar is incompatible with the dignity of the Court or with the requirements of the proper administration of justice, or that such adviser or lawyer is using his rights for purposes other than those for which they were granted, it shall inform the person concerned. If the Court informs the competent authorities to whom the person concerned is answerable, a copy of the letter sent to those authorities shall be forwarded to the person concerned.

On the same grounds, the Court may at any time, having heard the person concerned and the Advocate General, exclude the person concerned from the proceedings by order. That order shall have immediate effect.

2.   Where an adviser or lawyer is excluded from the proceedings, the proceedings shall be suspended for a period fixed by the President in order to allow the party concerned to appoint another adviser or lawyer.

3.   Decisions taken under this Article may be rescinded.

Article 36

The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to university teachers who have a right of audience before the Court in accordance with Article 19 of the Statute.

TITLE II

PROCEDURE

Chapter 1

WRITTEN PROCEDURE

Article 37

1.   The original of every pleading must be signed by the party's agent or lawyer.

The original, accompanied by all annexes referred to therein, shall be lodged together with five copies for the Court and a copy for every other party to the proceedings. Copies shall be certified by the party lodging them.

2.   Institutions shall in addition produce, within time-limits laid down by the Court, translations of all pleadings into the other languages provided for by Article 1 of Council Regulation No 1. The second subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply.

3.   All pleadings shall bear a date. In the reckoning of time-limits for taking steps in proceedings, only the date of lodgment at the Registry shall be taken into account.

4.   To every pleading there shall be annexed a file containing the documents relied on in support of it, together with a schedule listing them.

5.   Where in view of the length of a document only extracts from it are annexed to the pleading, the whole document or a full copy of it shall be lodged at the Registry.

6.   Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 5, the date on which a copy of the signed original of a pleading, including the schedule of documents referred to in paragraph 4, is received at the Registry by telefax or other technical means of communication available to the Court shall be deemed to be the date of lodgment for the purposes of compliance with the time-limits for taking steps in proceedings, provided that the signed original of the pleading, accompanied by the annexes and copies referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 above, is lodged at the Registry no later than 10 days thereafter. Article 81(2) shall not be applicable to this period of 10 days.

7.   Without prejudice to the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 or to paragraphs 2 to 5, the Court may by decision determine the criteria for a procedural document sent to the Registry by electronic means to be deemed to be the original of that document. That decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 38

1.   An application of the kind referred to in Article 21 of the Statute shall state:

(a)	the name and address of the applicant;

(b)	the designation of the party against whom the application is made;

(c)	the subject-matter of the proceedings and a summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based;

(d)	the form of order sought by the applicant;

(e)	where appropriate, the nature of any evidence offered in support.

2.   For the purpose of the proceedings, the application shall state an address for service in the place where the Court has its seat and the name of the person who is authorised and has expressed willingness to accept service.

In addition to, or instead of, specifying an address for service as referred to in the first subparagraph, the application may state that the lawyer or agent agrees that service is to be effected on him by telefax or other technical means of communication.

If the application does not comply with the requirements referred to in the first and second subparagraphs, all service on the party concerned for the purpose of the proceedings shall be effected, for so long as the defect has not been cured, by registered letter addressed to the agent or lawyer of that party. By way of derogation from Article 79(1), service shall then be deemed to be duly effected by the lodging of the registered letter at the post office of the place where the Court has its seat.

3.   The lawyer acting for a party must lodge at the Registry a certificate that he is authorised to practise before a court of a Member State or of another State which is a party to the EEA Agreement.

4.   The application shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by the documents specified in the second paragraph of Article 21 of the Statute.

5.   An application made by a legal person governed by private law shall be accompanied by:

(a)	the instrument or instruments constituting or regulating that legal person or a recent extract from the register of companies, firms or associations or any other proof of its existence in law;

(b)	proof that the authority granted to the applicant's lawyer has been properly conferred on him by someone authorised for the purpose.

6.   An application submitted under Article 273 TFEU shall be accompanied by a copy of the special agreement concluded between the Member States concerned.

7.   If an application does not comply with the requirements set out in paragraphs 3 to 6 of this Article, the Registrar shall prescribe a reasonable period within which the applicant is to comply with them whether by putting the application itself in order or by producing any of the abovementioned documents. If the applicant fails to put the application in order or to produce the required documents within the time prescribed, the Court shall, after hearing the Advocate General, decide whether the non-compliance with these conditions renders the application formally inadmissible.

Article 39

The application shall be served on the defendant. In a case where Article 38(7) applies, service shall be effected as soon as the application has been put in order or the Court has declared it admissible notwithstanding the failure to observe the formal requirements set out in that Article.

Article 40

1.   Within one month after service on him of the application, the defendant shall lodge a defence, stating:

(a)	the name and address of the defendant;

(b)	the arguments of fact and law relied on;

(c)	the form of order sought by the defendant;

(d)	the nature of any evidence offered by him.

The provisions of Article 38(2) to (5) of these Rules shall apply to the defence.

2.   The time-limit laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article may be extended by the President on a reasoned application by the defendant.

Article 41

1.   The application initiating the proceedings and the defence may be supplemented by a reply from the applicant and by a rejoinder from the defendant.

2.   The President shall fix the time-limits within which these pleadings are to be lodged.

Article 42

1.   In reply or rejoinder a party may offer further evidence. The party must, however, give reasons for the delay in offering it.

2.   No new plea in law may be introduced in the course of proceedings unless it is based on matters of law or of fact which come to light in the course of the procedure.

If in the course of the procedure one of the parties puts forward a new plea in law which is so based, the President may, even after the expiry of the normal procedural time-limits, acting on a report of the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate General, allow the other party time to answer on that plea.

The decision on the admissibility of the plea shall be reserved for the final judgment.

Article 43

The Court may, at any time, after hearing the parties and the Advocate General, if the assignment referred to in Article 10(2) has taken place, order that two or more cases concerning the same subject-matter shall, on account of the connection between them, be joined for the purposes of the written or oral procedure or of the final judgment. The cases may subsequently be disjoined. The President may refer these matters to the Court.

Chapter 1a

THE PRELIMINARY REPORT AND ASSIGNMENT OF CASES TO FORMATIONS

Article 44

1.   The President shall fix a date on which the Judge-Rapporteur is to present his preliminary report to the general meeting of the Court, either:

(a)	after the rejoinder has been lodged; or

(b)	where no reply or no rejoinder has been lodged within the time-limit fixed in accordance with Article 41(2); or

(c)	where the party concerned has waived his right to lodge a reply or rejoinder; or

(d)	where the expedited procedure referred to in Article 62a is to be applied, when the President fixes a date for the hearing.

2.   The preliminary report shall contain recommendations as to whether a preparatory inquiry or any other preparatory step should be undertaken and as to the formation to which the case should be assigned. It shall also contain the Judge-Rapporteur's recommendation, if any, as to whether to dispense with a hearing as provided for in Article 44a and as to whether to dispense with an Opinion of the Advocate General pursuant to the fifth subparagraph of Article 20 of the Statute.

The Court shall decide, after hearing the Advocate General, what action to take upon the recommendations of the Judge-Rapporteur.

3.   The Court shall assign to the Chambers of five and three Judges any case brought before it in so far as the difficulty or importance of the case or particular circumstances are not such as to require that it should be assigned to the Grand Chamber.

However, a case may not be assigned to a Chamber of five or three Judges if a Member State or an institution of the Union, being a party to the proceedings, has requested that the case be decided by the Grand Chamber. For the purposes of this provision, ‘party to the proceedings’ means any Member State or any institution which is a party to or an intervener in the proceedings or which has submitted written observations in any reference of a kind mentioned in Article 103. A request such as that referred to in this subparagraph may not be made in proceedings between the Union and its servants.

The Court shall sit as a full Court where cases are brought before it pursuant to the provisions referred to in the fourth paragraph of Article 16 of the Statute. It may assign a case to the full Court where, in accordance with the fifth paragraph of Article 16 of the Statute, it considers that the case is of exceptional importance.

4.   The formation to which a case has been assigned may, at any stage of the proceedings, refer the case back to the Court in order that it may be reassigned to a formation composed of a greater number of Judges.

5.   Where a preparatory inquiry has been opened, the formation determining the case may, if it does not undertake it itself, assign the inquiry to the Judge-Rapporteur.

Where the oral procedure is opened without an inquiry, the President of the formation determining the case shall fix the opening date.

Article 44a

Without prejudice to any special provisions laid down in these Rules, the procedure before the Court shall also include an oral part. However, after the pleadings referred to in Article 40(1) and, as the case may be, in Article 41(1) have been lodged, the Court, acting on a report from the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate General, and if none of the parties has submitted an application setting out the reasons for which he wishes to be heard, may decide otherwise. The application shall be submitted within a period of three weeks from notification to the party of the close of the written procedure. That period may be extended by the President.

Chapter 2

PREPARATORY INQUIRIES AND OTHER PREPARATORY MEASURES

Section 1 — Measures of inquiry

Article 45

1.   The Court, after hearing the Advocate General, shall prescribe the measures of inquiry that it considers appropriate by means of an order setting out the facts to be proved. Before the Court decides on the measures of inquiry referred to in paragraph 2(c), (d) and (e) the parties shall be heard.

The order shall be served on the parties.

2.   Without prejudice to Articles 24 and 25 of the Statute, the following measures of inquiry may be adopted:

(a)	the personal appearance of the parties;

(b)	a request for information and production of documents;

(c)	oral testimony;

(d)	the commissioning of an expert's report;

(e)	an inspection of the place or thing in question.

3.   The Advocate General shall take part in the measures of inquiry.

4.   Evidence may be submitted in rebuttal and previous evidence may be amplified.

Article 46

The parties shall be entitled to attend the measures of inquiry.

Section 2 — The summoning and examination of witnesses and experts

Article 47

1.   The Court may, either of its own motion or on application by a party, and after hearing the Advocate General, order that certain facts be proved by witnesses. The order of the Court shall set out the facts to be established.

The Court may summon a witness of its own motion or on application by a party or at the instance of the Advocate General.

An application by a party for the examination of a witness shall state precisely about what facts and for what reasons the witness should be examined.

2.   The witness shall be summoned by an order of the Court containing the following information:

(a)	the surname, forenames, description and address of the witness;

(b)	an indication of the facts about which the witness is to be examined;

(c)	where appropriate, particulars of the arrangements made by the Court for reimbursement of expenses incurred by the witness, and of the penalties which may be imposed on defaulting witnesses.

The order shall be served on the parties and the witnesses.

3.   The Court may make the summoning of a witness for whose examination a party has applied conditional upon the deposit with the cashier of the Court of a sum sufficient to cover the taxed costs thereof; the Court shall fix the amount of the payment.

The cashier shall advance the funds necessary in connection with the examination of any witness summoned by the Court of its own motion.

4.   After the identity of the witness has been established, the President shall inform him that he will be required to vouch the truth of his evidence in the manner laid down in these Rules.

The witness shall give his evidence to the Court, the parties having been given notice to attend. After the witness has given his main evidence the President may, at the request of a party or of his own motion, put questions to him.

The other Judges and the Advocate General may do likewise.

Subject to the control of the President, questions may be put to witnesses by the representatives of the parties.

5.   After giving his evidence, the witness shall take the following oath:

The Court may, after hearing the parties, exempt a witness from taking the oath.

6.   The Registrar shall draw up minutes in which the evidence of each witness is reproduced.

The minutes shall be signed by the President or by the Judge-Rapporteur responsible for conducting the examination of the witness, and by the Registrar. Before the minutes are thus signed, witnesses must be given an opportunity to check the content of the minutes and to sign them.

The minutes shall constitute an official record.

Article 48

1.   Witnesses who have been duly summoned shall obey the summons and attend for examination.

2.   If a witness who has been duly summoned fails to appear before the Court, the Court may impose upon him a pecuniary penalty not exceeding EUR 5 000 (2) and may order that a further summons be served on the witness at his own expense.

The same penalty may be imposed upon a witness who, without good reason, refuses to give evidence or to take the oath or where appropriate to make a solemn affirmation equivalent thereto.

3.   If the witness proffers a valid excuse to the Court, the pecuniary penalty imposed on him may be cancelled. The pecuniary penalty imposed may be reduced at the request of the witness where he establishes that it is disproportionate to his income.

4.   Penalties imposed and other measures ordered under this Article shall be enforced in accordance with Articles 280 TFEU and 299 TFEU and Article 164 TEAEC.

Article 49

1.   The Court may order that an expert's report be obtained. The order appointing the expert shall define his task and set a time-limit within which he is to make his report.

2.   The expert shall receive a copy of the order, together with all the documents necessary for carrying out his task. He shall be under the supervision of the Judge-Rapporteur, who may be present during his investigation and who shall be kept informed of his progress in carrying out his task.

The Court may request the parties or one of them to lodge security for the costs of the expert's report.

3.   At the request of the expert, the Court may order the examination of witnesses. Their examination shall be carried out in accordance with Article 47 of these Rules.

4.   The expert may give his opinion only on points which have been expressly referred to him.

5.   After the expert has made his report, the Court may order that he be examined, the parties having been given notice to attend.

Subject to the control of the President, questions may be put to the expert by the representatives of the parties.

6.   After making his report, the expert shall take the following oath before the Court:

The Court may, after hearing the parties, exempt the expert from taking the oath.

Article 50

1.   If one of the parties objects to a witness or to an expert on the ground that he is not a competent or proper person to act as witness or expert or for any other reason, or if a witness or expert refuses to give evidence, to take the oath or to make a solemn affirmation equivalent thereto, the matter shall be resolved by the Court.

2.   An objection to a witness or to an expert shall be raised within two weeks after service of the order summoning the witness or appointing the expert; the statement of objection must set out the grounds of objection and indicate the nature of any evidence offered.

Article 51

1.   Witnesses and experts shall be entitled to reimbursement of their travel and subsistence expenses. The cashier of the Court may make a payment to them towards these expenses in advance.

2.   Witnesses shall be entitled to compensation for loss of earnings, and experts to fees for their services. The cashier of the Court shall pay witnesses and experts their compensation or fees after they have carried out their respective duties or tasks.

Article 52

The Court may, on application by a party or of its own motion, issue letters rogatory for the examination of witnesses or experts, as provided for in the supplementary rules mentioned in Article 125 of these Rules.

Article 53

1.   The Registrar shall draw up minutes of every hearing. The minutes shall be signed by the President and by the Registrar and shall constitute an official record.

2.   The parties may inspect the minutes and any expert's report at the Registry and obtain copies at their own expense.

Section 3 — Closure of the preparatory inquiry

Article 54

Unless the Court prescribes a period within which the parties may lodge written observations, the President shall fix the date for the opening of the oral procedure after the preparatory inquiry has been completed.

Where a period had been prescribed for the lodging of written observations, the President shall fix the date for the opening of the oral procedure after that period has expired.

Section 4 — Preparatory Measures

Article 54a

The Judge-Rapporteur and the Advocate General may request the parties to submit within a specified period all such information relating to the facts, and all such documents or other particulars, as they may consider relevant. The information and/or documents provided shall be communicated to the other parties.

Chapter 3

ORAL PROCEDURE

Article 55

1.   Subject to the priority of decisions provided for in Article 85 of these Rules, the Court shall deal with the cases before it in the order in which the preparatory inquiries in them have been completed. Where the preparatory inquiries in several cases are completed simultaneously, the order in which they are to be dealt with shall be determined by the dates of entry in the register of the applications initiating them respectively.

2.   The President may in special circumstances order that a case be given priority over others.

The President may in special circumstances, after hearing the parties and the Advocate General, either on his own initiative or at the request of one of the parties, defer a case to be dealt with at a later date. On a joint application by the parties the President may order that a case be deferred.

Article 56

1.   The proceedings shall be opened and directed by the President, who shall be responsible for the proper conduct of the hearing.

2.   The oral proceedings in cases heard in camera shall not be published.

Article 57

The President may in the course of the hearing put questions to the agents, advisers or lawyers of the parties.

The other Judges and the Advocate General may do likewise.

Article 58

A party may address the Court only through his agent, adviser or lawyer.

Article 59

1.   The Advocate General shall deliver his opinion orally at the end of the oral procedure.

2.   After the Advocate General has delivered his opinion, the President shall declare the oral procedure closed.

Article 60

The Court may at any time, in accordance with Article 45(1), after hearing the Advocate General, order any measure of inquiry to be taken or that a previous inquiry be repeated or expanded. The Court may direct the Judge-Rapporteur to carry out the measures so ordered.

Article 61

The Court may after hearing the Advocate General order the reopening of the oral procedure.

Article 62

1.   The Registrar shall draw up minutes of every hearing. The minutes shall be signed by the President and by the Registrar and shall constitute an official record.

2.   The parties may inspect the minutes at the Registry and obtain copies at their own expense.

Chapter 3a

EXPEDITED PROCEDURES

Article 62a

1.   On application by the applicant or the defendant, the President may exceptionally decide, on the basis of a recommendation by the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the other party and the Advocate General, that a case is to be determined pursuant to an expedited procedure derogating from the provisions of these Rules, where the particular urgency of the case requires the Court to give its ruling with the minimum of delay.

An application for a case to be decided under an expedited procedure shall be made by a separate document lodged at the same time as the application initiating the proceedings or the defence, as the case may be.

2.   Under the expedited procedure, the originating application and the defence may be supplemented by a reply and a rejoinder only if the President considers this to be necessary.

An intervener may lodge a statement in intervention only if the President considers this to be necessary.

3.   Once the defence has been lodged or, if the decision to adjudicate under an expedited procedure is not made until after that pleading has been lodged, once that decision has been taken, the President shall fix a date for the hearing, which shall be communicated forthwith to the parties. He may postpone the date of the hearing where the organisation of measures of inquiry or of other preparatory measures so requires.

Without prejudice to Article 42, the parties may supplement their arguments and offer further evidence in the course of the oral procedure. They must, however, give reasons for the delay in offering such further evidence.

4.   The Court shall give its ruling after hearing the Advocate General.

Chapter 4

JUDGMENTS

Article 63

The judgment shall contain:

—	a statement that it is the judgment of the Court,

—	the date of its delivery,

—	the names of the President and of the Judges taking part in it,

—	the name of the Advocate General,

—	the name of the Registrar,

—	the description of the parties,

—	the names of the agents, advisers and lawyers of the parties,

—	a statement of the forms of order sought by the parties,

—	a statement that the Advocate General has been heard,

—	a summary of the facts,

—	the grounds for the decision,

—	the operative part of the judgment, including the decision as to costs.

Article 64

1.   The judgment shall be delivered in open court; the parties shall be given notice to attend to hear it.

2.   The original of the judgment, signed by the President, by the Judges who took part in the deliberations and by the Registrar, shall be sealed and deposited at the Registry; the parties shall be served with certified copies of the judgment.

3.   The Registrar shall record on the original of the judgment the date on which it was delivered.

Article 65

The judgment shall be binding from the date of its delivery.

Article 66

1.   Without prejudice to the provisions relating to the interpretation of judgments the Court may, of its own motion or on application by a party made within two weeks after the delivery of a judgment, rectify clerical mistakes, errors in calculation and obvious slips in it.

2.   The parties, whom the Registrar shall duly notify, may lodge written observations within a period prescribed by the President.

3.   The Court shall take its decision in closed session after hearing the Advocate General.

4.   The original of the rectification order shall be annexed to the original of the rectified judgment. A note of this order shall be made in the margin of the original of the rectified judgment.

Article 67

If the Court should omit to give a decision on a specific head of claim or on costs, any party may within a month after service of the judgment apply to the Court to supplement its judgment.

The application shall be served on the opposite party and the President shall prescribe a period within which that party may lodge written observations.

After these observations have been lodged, the Court shall, after hearing the Advocate General, decide both on the admissibility and on the substance of the application.

Article 68

The Registrar shall arrange for the publication of reports of cases before the Court.

Chapter 5

COSTS

Article 69

1.   A decision as to costs shall be given in the final judgment or in the order which closes the proceedings.

2.   The unsuccessful party shall be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the successful party's pleadings.

Where there are several unsuccessful parties the Court shall decide how the costs are to be shared.

3.   Where each party succeeds on some and fails on other heads, or where the circumstances are exceptional, the Court may order that the costs be shared or that the parties bear their own costs.

The Court may order a party, even if successful, to pay costs which the Court considers that party to have unreasonably or vexatiously caused the opposite party to incur.

4.   The Member States and institutions which intervene in the proceedings shall bear their own costs.

The States, other than the Member States, which are parties to the EEA Agreement, and also the EFTA Surveillance Authority, shall bear their own costs if they intervene in the proceedings.

The Court may order an intervener other than those mentioned in the preceding subparagraphs to bear his own costs.

5.   A party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings shall be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the other party's observations on the discontinuance. However, upon application by the party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings, the costs shall be borne by the other party if this appears justified by the conduct of that party.

Where the parties have come to an agreement on costs, the decision as to costs shall be in accordance with that agreement.

If costs are not claimed, the parties shall bear their own costs.

6.   Where a case does not proceed to judgment the costs shall be in the discretion of the Court.

Article 70

Without prejudice to the second subparagraph of Article 69(3) of these Rules, in proceedings between the Union and its servants the institutions shall bear their own costs.

Article 71

Costs necessarily incurred by a party in enforcing a judgment or order of the Court shall be refunded by the opposite party on the scale in force in the State where the enforcement takes place.

Article 72

Proceedings before the Court shall be free of charge, except that:

(a)	where a party has caused the Court to incur avoidable costs the Court may, after hearing the Advocate General, order that party to refund them;

(b)	where copying or translation work is carried out at the request of a party, the cost shall, in so far as the Registrar considers it excessive, be paid for by that party on the scale of charges referred to in Article 16(5) of these Rules.

Article 73

Without prejudice to the preceding Article, the following shall be regarded as recoverable costs:

(a)	sums payable to witnesses and experts under Article 51 of these Rules;

(b)	expenses necessarily incurred by the parties for the purpose of the proceedings, in particular the travel and subsistence expenses and the remuneration of agents, advisers or lawyers.

Article 74

1.   If there is a dispute concerning the costs to be recovered, the formation of the Court to which the case has been referred shall, on application by the party concerned and after hearing the opposite party and the Advocate General, make an order.

2.   The parties may, for the purposes of enforcement, apply for an authenticated copy of the order.

Article 75

1.   Sums due from the cashier of the Court and from its debtors shall be paid in euro.

2.   Where costs to be recovered have been incurred in a currency other than the euro or where the steps in respect of which payment is due were taken in a country of which the euro is not the currency, conversions of currency shall be made at the European Central Bank's official rates of exchange on the day of payment.

Chapter 6

LEGAL AID

Article 76

1.   A party who is wholly or in part unable to meet the costs of the proceedings may at any time apply for legal aid.

The application shall be accompanied by evidence of the applicant's need of assistance, and in particular by a document from the competent authority certifying his lack of means.

2.   If the application is made prior to proceedings which the applicant wishes to commence, it shall briefly state the subject of such proceedings.

The application need not be made through a lawyer.

3.   The President shall designate a Judge to act as Rapporteur. The Court, on the Judge-Rapporteur's proposal and after hearing the Advocate General, shall refer the application to a formation of the Court which shall decide whether legal aid should be granted in full or in part, or whether it should be refused. That formation shall consider whether there is manifestly no cause of action.

The formation of the Court shall give its decision by way of order. Where the application for legal aid is refused in whole or in part, the order shall state the reasons for that refusal.

4.   The formation of the Court may at any time, either of its own motion or on application, withdraw legal aid if the circumstances which led to its being granted alter during the proceedings.

5.   Where legal aid is granted, the cashier of the Court shall advance the funds necessary to meet the expenses.

In its decision as to costs the Court may order the payment to the cashier of the Court of the whole or any part of amounts advanced as legal aid.

The Registrar shall take steps to obtain the recovery of these sums from the party ordered to pay them.

Chapter 7

DISCONTINUANCE

Article 77

If, before the Court has given its decision, the parties reach a settlement of their dispute and intimate to the Court the abandonment of their claims, the President shall order the case to be removed from the register and shall give a decision as to costs in accordance with Article 69(5), having regard to any proposals made by the parties on the matter.

This provision shall not apply to proceedings under Articles 263 TFEU and 265 TFEU.

Article 78

If the applicant informs the Court in writing that he wishes to discontinue the proceedings, the President shall order the case to be removed from the register and shall give a decision as to costs in accordance with Article 69(5).

Chapter 8

SERVICE

Article 79

1.   Where these Rules require that a document be served on a person, the Registrar shall ensure that service is effected at that person's address for service either by the dispatch of a copy of the document by registered post with a form for acknowledgement of receipt or by personal delivery of the copy against a receipt.

The Registrar shall prepare and certify the copies of documents to be served, save where the parties themselves supply the copies in accordance with Article 37(1) of these Rules.

2.   Where, in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 38(2), the addressee has agreed that service is to be effected on him by telefax or other technical means of communication, any procedural document other than a judgment or order of the Court may be served by the transmission of a copy of the document by such means.

Where, for technical reasons or on account of the nature or length of the document, such transmission is impossible or impracticable, the document shall be served, if the addressee has failed to state an address for service, at his address in accordance with the procedures laid down in paragraph 1 of this article. The addressee shall be so advised by telefax or other technical means of communication. Service shall then be deemed to have been effected on the addressee by registered post on the 10th day following the lodging of the registered letter at the post office of the place where the Court has its seat, unless it is shown by the acknowledgement of receipt that the letter was received on a different date or the addressee informs the Registrar, within three weeks of being advised by telefax or other technical means of communication, that the document to be served has not reached him.

Chapter 9

TIME-LIMITS

Article 80

1.   Any period of time prescribed by the Treaties, the Statute or these Rules for the taking of any procedural step shall be reckoned as follows:

(a)	where a period expressed in days, weeks, months or years is to be calculated from the moment at which an event occurs or an action takes place, the day during which that event occurs or that action takes place shall not be counted as falling within the period in question;

(b)

a period expressed in weeks, months or in years shall end with the expiry of whichever day in the last week, month or year is the same day of the week, or falls on the same date, as the day during which the event or action from which the period is to be calculated occurred or took place. If, in a period expressed in months or in years, the day on which it should expire does not occur in the last month, the period shall end with the expiry of the last day of that month;

(c)	where a period is expressed in months and days, it shall first be reckoned in whole months, then in days;

(d)	periods shall include official holidays, Sundays and Saturdays;

(e)	periods shall not be suspended during the judicial vacations.

2.   If the period would otherwise end on a Saturday, Sunday or an official holiday, it shall be extended until the end of the first following working day.

A list of official holidays drawn up by the Court shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 81

1.   Where the period of time allowed for initiating proceedings against a measure adopted by an institution runs from the publication of that measure, that period shall be calculated, for the purposes of Article 80(1)(a), from the end of the 14th day after publication thereof in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.   The prescribed time-limits shall be extended on account of distance by a single period of 10 days.

Article 82

Any time-limit prescribed pursuant to these Rules may be extended by whoever prescribed it.

The President and the Presidents of Chambers may delegate to the Registrar power of signature for the purpose of fixing time-limits which, pursuant to these Rules, it falls to them to prescribe or of extending such time-limits.

Chapter 10

STAY OF PROCEEDINGS

Article 82a

1.   The proceedings may be stayed:

(a)	in the circumstances specified in the third paragraph of Article 54 of the Statute, by order of the Court, made after hearing the Advocate General;

(b)	in all other cases, by decision of the President adopted after hearing the Advocate General and, save in the case of references for a preliminary ruling as referred to in Article 103, the parties.

The proceedings may be resumed by order or decision, following the same procedure.

The orders or decisions referred to in this paragraph shall be served on the parties.

2.   The stay of proceedings shall take effect on the date indicated in the order or decision of stay or, in the absence of such indication, on the date of that order or decision.

While proceedings are stayed time shall cease to run for the purposes of prescribed time-limits for all parties.

3.   Where the order or decision of stay does not fix the length of stay, it shall end on the date indicated in the order or decision of resumption or, in the absence of such indication, on the date of the order or decision of resumption.

From the date of resumption time shall begin to run afresh for the purposes of the time-limits.

TITLE III

SPECIAL FORMS OF PROCEDURE

Chapter 1

SUSPENSION OF OPERATION OR ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER INTERIM MEASURES

Article 83

1.   An application to suspend the operation of any measure adopted by an institution, made pursuant to Article 278 TFEU or Article 157 TEAEC, shall be admissible only if the applicant is challenging that measure in proceedings before the Court.

An application for the adoption of any other interim measure referred to in Article 279 TFEU shall be admissible only if it is made by a party to a case before the Court and relates to that case.

2.   An application of a kind referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall state the subject-matter of the proceedings, the circumstances giving rise to urgency and the pleas of fact and law establishing a prima facie case for the interim measures applied for.

3.   The application shall be made by a separate document and in accordance with the provisions of Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules.

Article 84

1.   The application shall be served on the opposite party, and the President shall prescribe a short period within which that party may submit written or oral observations.

2.   The President may order a preparatory inquiry.

The President may grant the application even before the observations of the opposite party have been submitted. This decision may be varied or cancelled even without any application being made by any party.

Article 85

The President shall either decide on the application himself or refer it to the Court.

If the President is absent or prevented from attending, Article 11 of these Rules shall apply.

Where the application is referred to it, the Court shall postpone all other cases, and shall give a decision after hearing the Advocate General. Article 84 shall apply.

Article 86

1.   The decision on the application shall take the form of a reasoned order, from which no appeal shall lie. The order shall be served on the parties forthwith.

2.   The enforcement of the order may be made conditional on the lodging by the applicant of security, of an amount and nature to be fixed in the light of the circumstances.

3.   Unless the order fixes the date on which the interim measure is to lapse, the measure shall lapse when final judgment is delivered.

4.   The order shall have only an interim effect, and shall be without prejudice to the decision of the Court on the substance of the case.

Article 87

On application by a party, the order may at any time be varied or cancelled on account of a change in circumstances.

Article 88

Rejection of an application for an interim measure shall not bar the party who made it from making a further application on the basis of new facts.

Article 89

The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to applications to suspend the enforcement of a decision of the Court or of any measure adopted by another institution, submitted pursuant to Articles 280 TFEU and 299 TFEU or Article 164 TEAEC.

The order granting the application shall fix, where appropriate, a date on which the interim measure is to lapse.

Article 90

1.   An application of a kind referred to in the third and fourth paragraphs of Article 81 TEAEC shall contain:

(a)	the names and addresses of the persons or undertakings to be inspected;

(b)	an indication of what is to be inspected and of the purpose of the inspection.

2.   The President shall give his decision in the form of an order. Article 86 of these Rules shall apply.

If the President is absent or prevented from attending, Article 11 of these Rules shall apply.

Chapter 2

PRELIMINARY ISSUES

Article 91

1.   A party applying to the Court for a decision on a preliminary objection or other preliminary plea not going to the substance of the case shall make the application by a separate document.

The application must state the pleas of fact and law relied on and the form of order sought by the applicant; any supporting documents must be annexed to it.

2.   As soon as the application has been lodged, the President shall prescribe a period within which the opposite party may lodge a document containing a statement of the form of order sought by that party and its pleas in law.

3.   Unless the Court decides otherwise, the remainder of the proceedings shall be oral.

4.   The Court shall, after hearing the Advocate General, decide on the application or reserve its decision for the final judgment.

If the Court refuses the application or reserves its decision, the President shall prescribe new time-limits for the further steps in the proceedings.

Article 92

1.   Where it is clear that the Court has no jurisdiction to take cognisance of an action or where the action is manifestly inadmissible, the Court may, by reasoned order, after hearing the Advocate General and without taking further steps in the proceedings, give a decision on the action.

2.   The Court may at any time of its own motion, after hearing the parties, decide whether there exists any absolute bar to proceeding with a case or declare that the action has become devoid of purpose and that there is no need to adjudicate on it; it shall give its decision in accordance with Article 91(3) and (4) of these Rules.

Chapter 3

INTERVENTION

Article 93

1.   An application to intervene must be made within six weeks of the publication of the notice referred to in Article 16(6) of these Rules.

The application shall contain:

(a)	the description of the case;

(b)	the description of the parties;

(c)	the name and address of the intervener;

(d)	the intervener's address for service at the place where the Court has its seat;

(e)	the form of order sought, by one or more of the parties, in support of which the intervener is applying for leave to intervene;

(f)	a statement of the circumstances establishing the right to intervene, where the application is submitted pursuant to the second or third paragraph of Article 40 of the Statute.

The intervener shall be represented in accordance with Article 19 of the Statute.

Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules shall apply.

2.   The application shall be served on the parties.

The President shall give the parties an opportunity to submit their written or oral observations before deciding on the application.

The President shall decide on the application by order or shall refer the application to the Court.

3.   If the President allows the intervention, the intervener shall receive a copy of every document served on the parties. The President may, however, on application by one of the parties, omit secret or confidential documents.

4.   The intervener must accept the case as he finds it at the time of his intervention.

5.   The President shall prescribe a period within which the intervener may submit a statement in intervention.

The statement in intervention shall contain:

(a)	a statement of the form of order sought by the intervener in support of or opposing, in whole or in part, the form of order sought by one of the parties;

(b)	the pleas in law and arguments relied on by the intervener;

(c)	where appropriate, the nature of any evidence offered.

6.   After the statement in intervention has been lodged, the President shall, where necessary, prescribe a time-limit within which the parties may reply to that statement.

7.   Consideration may be given to an application to intervene which is made after the expiry of the period prescribed in paragraph 1 but before the decision to open the oral procedure provided for in Article 44(3). In that event, if the President allows the intervention, the intervener may submit his observations during the oral procedure, if that procedure takes place.

Chapter 4

JUDGMENTS BY DEFAULT AND APPLICATIONS TO SET THEM ASIDE

Article 94

1.   If a defendant on whom an application initiating proceedings has been duly served fails to lodge a defence to the application in the proper form within the time prescribed, the applicant may apply for judgment by default.

The application shall be served on the defendant. The Court may decide to open the oral procedure on the application.

2.   Before giving judgment by default the Court shall, after hearing the Advocate General, consider whether the application initiating proceedings is admissible, whether the appropriate formalities have been complied with, and whether the application appears well founded. The Court may order a preparatory inquiry.

3.   A judgment by default shall be enforceable. The Court may, however, grant a stay of execution until the Court has given its decision on any application under paragraph 4 to set aside the judgment, or it may make execution subject to the provision of security of an amount and nature to be fixed in the light of the circumstances; this security shall be released if no such application is made or if the application fails.

4.   Application may be made to set aside a judgment by default.

The application to set aside the judgment must be made within one month from the date of service of the judgment and must be lodged in the form prescribed by Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules.

5.   After the application has been served, the President shall prescribe a period within which the other party may submit his written observations.

The proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with Article 44 et seq. of these Rules.

6.   The Court shall decide by way of a judgment which may not be set aside.

The original of this judgment shall be annexed to the original of the judgment by default. A note of the judgment on the application to set aside shall be made in the margin of the original of the judgment by default.

Chapter 5

Article 95

(repealed)

Article 96

(repealed)

Chapter 6

EXCEPTIONAL REVIEW PROCEDURES

Section 1 — Third-party proceedings

Article 97

1.   Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules shall apply to an application initiating third-party proceedings. In addition such an application shall:

(a)	specify the judgment contested;

(b)	state how that judgment is prejudicial to the rights of the third party;

(c)	indicate the reasons for which the third party was unable to take part in the original case.

The application must be made against all the parties to the original case.

Where the judgment has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, the application must be lodged within two months of the publication.

2.   The Court may, on application by the third party, order a stay of execution of the judgment. The provisions of Title III, Chapter I, of these Rules shall apply.

3.   The contested judgment shall be varied on the points on which the submissions of the third party are upheld.

The original of the judgment in the third-party proceedings shall be annexed to the original of the contested judgment. A note of the judgment in the third-party proceedings shall be made in the margin of the original of the contested judgment.

Section 2 — Revision

Article 98

An application for revision of a judgment shall be made within three months of the date on which the facts on which the application is based came to the applicant's knowledge.

Article 99

1.   Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules shall apply to an application for revision. In addition such an application shall:

(a)	specify the judgment contested;

(b)	indicate the points on which the judgment is contested;

(c)	set out the facts on which the application is based;

(d)	indicate the nature of the evidence to show that there are facts justifying revision of the judgment, and that the time-limit laid down in Article 98 has been observed.

2.   The application must be made against all parties to the case in which the contested judgment was given.

Article 100

1.   Without prejudice to its decision on the substance, the Court, in closed session, shall, after hearing the Advocate General and having regard to the written observations of the parties, give in the form of a judgment its decision on the admissibility of the application.

2.   If the Court finds the application admissible, it shall proceed to consider the substance of the application and shall give its decision in the form of a judgment in accordance with these Rules.

3.   The original of the revising judgment shall be annexed to the original of the judgment revised. A note of the revising judgment shall be made in the margin of the original of the judgment revised.

Chapter 7

APPEALS AGAINST DECISIONS OF THE ARBITRATION COMMITTEE

Article 101

1.   An application initiating an appeal under the second paragraph of Article 18 TEAEC shall state:

(a)	the name and address of the applicant;

(b)	the description of the signatory;

(c)	a reference to the arbitration committee's decision against which the appeal is made;

(d)	the description of the parties;

(e)	a summary of the facts;

(f)	the pleas in law of and the form of order sought by the applicant.

2.   Articles 37(3) and (4) and 38(2), (3) and (5) of these Rules shall apply.

A certified copy of the contested decision shall be annexed to the application.

3.   As soon as the application has been lodged, the Registrar of the Court shall request the arbitration committee registry to transmit to the Court the papers in the case.

4.   Articles 39, 40 and 55 et seq. of these Rules shall apply to these proceedings.

5.   The Court shall give its decision in the form of a judgment. Where the Court sets aside the decision of the arbitration committee it may refer the case back to the committee.

Chapter 8

INTERPRETATION OF JUDGMENTS

Article 102

1.   An application for interpretation of a judgment shall be made in accordance with Articles 37 and 38 of these Rules. In addition it shall specify:

(a)	the judgment in question;

(b)	the passages of which interpretation is sought.

The application must be made against all the parties to the case in which the judgment was given.

2.   The Court shall give its decision in the form of a judgment after having given the parties an opportunity to submit their observations and after hearing the Advocate General.

The original of the interpreting judgment shall be annexed to the original of the judgment interpreted. A note of the interpreting judgment shall be made in the margin of the original of the judgment interpreted.

Chapter 9

PRELIMINARY RULINGS AND OTHER REFERENCES FOR INTERPRETATION

Article 103

1.   In cases governed by Article 23 of the Statute, the procedure shall be governed by the provisions of these Rules, subject to adaptations necessitated by the nature of the reference for a preliminary ruling.

2.   The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to the references for a preliminary ruling provided for in the Protocol concerning the interpretation by the Court of Justice of the Convention of 29 February 1968 on the mutual recognition of companies and legal persons and the Protocol concerning the interpretation by the Court of Justice of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, signed at Luxembourg on 3 June 1971, and to the references provided for by Article 4 of the latter Protocol.

The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply also to references for interpretation provided for by other existing or future agreements.

Article 104

1.   The decisions of national courts or tribunals referred to in Article 103 shall be communicated to the Member States in the original version, accompanied by a translation into the official language of the State to which they are addressed. Where appropriate on account of the length of the national court's decision, such translation shall be replaced by the translation into the official language of the State to which it is addressed of a summary of the decision, which will serve as a basis for the position to be adopted by that State. The summary shall include the full text of the question or questions referred for a preliminary ruling. That summary shall contain, in particular, in so far as that information appears in the national court's decision, the subject-matter of the main proceedings, the essential arguments of the parties in the main proceedings, a succinct presentation of the reasoning in the reference for a preliminary ruling and the case-law and the provisions of European Union and domestic law relied on.

In the cases governed by the third paragraph of Article 23 of the Statute, the decisions of national courts or tribunals shall be notified to the States, other than the Member States, which are parties to the EEA Agreement and also to the EFTA Surveillance Authority in the original version, accompanied by a translation of the decision, or where appropriate of a summary, into one of the languages mentioned in Article 29(1), to be chosen by the addressee of the notification.

Where a non-Member State has the right to take part in proceedings for a preliminary ruling pursuant to the fourth paragraph of Article 23 of the Statute, the original version of the decision of the national court or tribunal shall be communicated to it together with a translation of the decision, or where appropriate of a summary, into one of the languages mentioned in Article 29(1), to be chosen by the non-Member State concerned.

2.   As regards the representation and attendance of the parties to the main proceedings in the preliminary ruling procedure the Court shall take account of the rules of procedure of the national court or tribunal which made the reference.

3.   Where a question referred to the Court for a preliminary ruling is identical to a question on which the Court has already ruled, or where the answer to such a question may be clearly deduced from existing case-law, the Court may, after hearing the Advocate General, at any time give its decision by reasoned order in which reference is made to its previous judgment or to the relevant case-law.

The Court may also give its decision by reasoned order, after informing the court or tribunal which referred the question to it, hearing any observations submitted by the persons referred to in Article 23 of the Statute and after hearing the Advocate General, where the answer to the question referred to the Court for a preliminary ruling admits of no reasonable doubt.

4.   Without prejudice to paragraph (3) of this Article, the procedure before the Court in the case of a reference for a preliminary ruling shall also include an oral part. However, after the statements of case or written observations referred to Article 23 of the Statute have been submitted, the Court, acting on a report from the Judge-Rapporteur, after informing the persons who under the aforementioned provisions are entitled to submit such statements or observations, may, after hearing the Advocate General, decide otherwise, provided that none of those persons has submitted an application setting out the reasons for which he wishes to be heard. The application shall be submitted within a period of three weeks from service on the party or person of the written statements of case or written observations which have been lodged. That period may be extended by the President.

5.   The Court may, after hearing the Advocate General, request clarification from the national court.

6.   It shall be for the national court or tribunal to decide as to the costs of the reference.

In special circumstances the Court may grant, by way of legal aid, assistance for the purpose of facilitating the representation or attendance of a party.

Article 104a

At the request of the national court, the President may exceptionally decide, on a proposal from the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate General, to apply an accelerated procedure derogating from the provisions of these Rules to a reference for a preliminary ruling, where the circumstances referred to establish that a ruling on the question put to the Court is a matter of exceptional urgency.

In that event, the President may immediately fix the date for the hearing, which shall be notified to the parties in the main proceedings and to the other persons referred to in Article 23 of the Statute when the decision making the reference is served.

The parties and other interested persons referred to in the preceding paragraph may lodge statements of case or written observations within a period prescribed by the President, which shall not be less than 15 days. The President may request the parties and other interested persons to restrict the matters addressed in their statement of case or written observations to the essential points of law raised by the question referred.

The statements of case or written observations, if any, shall be notified to the parties and to the other persons referred to above prior to the hearing.

The Court shall rule after hearing the Advocate General.

Article 104b

1.   A reference for a preliminary ruling which raises one or more questions in the areas covered by Title V of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union may, at the request of the national court or tribunal or, exceptionally, of the Court's own motion, be dealt with under an urgent procedure which derogates from the provisions of these Rules.

The national court or tribunal shall set out, in its request, the matters of fact and law which establish the urgency and justify the application of that exceptional procedure and shall, in so far as possible, indicate the answer it proposes to the questions referred.

If the national court or tribunal has not submitted a request for the urgent procedure to be applied, the President of the Court may, if the application of that procedure appears, prima facie, to be required, ask the Chamber referred to below to consider whether it is necessary to deal with the reference under that procedure.

The decision to deal with a reference for a preliminary ruling under the urgent procedure shall be taken by the designated Chamber, acting on a report of the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate General. The composition of that Chamber shall be determined in accordance with Article 11c on the day on which the case is assigned to the Judge-Rapporteur if the application of the urgent procedure is requested by the national court or tribunal, or, if the application of that procedure is considered at the request of the President of the Court, on the day on which that request is made.

2.   A reference for a preliminary ruling of the kind referred to in the preceding paragraph shall, where the national court or tribunal has requested the application of the urgent procedure or where the President has requested the designated Chamber to consider whether it is necessary to deal with the reference under that procedure, be notified forthwith by the Registrar to the parties to the action before the national court or tribunal, to the Member State from which the reference is made and to the institutions referred to in the first paragraph of Article 23 of the Statute, in accordance with that provision.

The decision as to whether or not to deal with the reference for a preliminary ruling under the urgent procedure shall be notified forthwith to the national court or tribunal and to the parties, Member State and institutions referred to in the preceding subparagraph. The decision to deal with the reference under the urgent procedure shall prescribe the period within which those parties or entities may lodge statements of case or written observations. The decision may specify the matters of law to which such statements of case or written observations must relate and may specify the maximum length of those documents.

As soon as the notification referred to in the first subparagraph above has been made, the reference for a preliminary ruling shall also be communicated to the interested persons referred to in Article 23 of the Statute, other than the persons notified, and the decision whether or not to deal with the reference for a preliminary ruling under the urgent procedure shall be communicated to those interested persons as soon as the notification referred to in the second subparagraph has been made.

The parties and other interested persons referred to in Article 23 of the Statute shall be informed as soon as may be possible of the foreseeable date of the hearing.

Where the reference is not to be dealt with under the urgent procedure, the proceedings shall continue in accordance with the provisions of Article 23 of the Statute and the applicable provisions of these Rules.

3.   A reference for a preliminary ruling which is to be dealt with under an urgent procedure, together with the statements of case or written observations which have been lodged, shall be served on the persons referred to in Article 23 of the Statute other than the parties and the entities referred to in the first subparagraph of the preceding paragraph of this Article. The reference for a preliminary ruling shall be accompanied by a translation, where appropriate in summary form, in accordance with Article 104(1).

The statements of case or written observations which have been lodged shall also be served on the parties and the other persons referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 104b(2).

The date of the hearing shall be notified to the parties and those other persons at the same time as the documents referred to in the preceding paragraphs are served.

4.   The Chamber may, in cases of extreme urgency, decide to omit the written part of the procedure referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 of this Article.

5.   The designated Chamber shall rule after hearing the Advocate General.

It may decide to sit in a formation of three Judges. In that event, it shall be composed of the President of the designated Chamber, the Judge-Rapporteur and the first Judge or, as the case may be, the first two Judges designated from the list referred to in Article 11c(2) on the date on which the composition of the designated Chamber is determined in accordance with the fourth subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article.

It may also decide to refer the case back to the Court in order for it to be assigned to a formation composed of a greater number of Judges. The urgent procedure shall continue before the new formation, where necessary after the reopening of the oral procedure.

6.   The procedural documents referred to in this Article shall be deemed to have been lodged on the transmission to the Registry, by telefax or other technical means of communication available to the Court, of a copy of the signed original and the documents relied on in support of it, together with the schedule referred to in Article 37(4). The original of the document and the annexes referred to above shall be sent to the Registry.

Where this Article requires that a document be notified to or served on a person, such notification or service may be effected by the transmission of a copy of the document by telefax or other technical means of communication available to the Court and the addressee.

Chapter 10

SPECIAL PROCEDURES UNDER ARTICLES 103 TEAEC TO 105 TEAEC

Article 105

1.   Four certified copies shall be lodged of an application under the third paragraph of Article 103 TEAEC. The European Commission shall be served with a copy.

2.   The application shall be accompanied by the draft of the agreement or contract in question, by the observations of the European Commission addressed to the State concerned and by all other supporting documents.

The European Commission shall submit its observations to the Court within a period of 10 days, which may be extended by the President after the State concerned has been heard.

A certified copy of the observations shall be served on that State.

3.   As soon as the application has been lodged the President shall designate a Judge to act as Rapporteur. The First Advocate General shall assign the case to an Advocate General as soon as the Judge-Rapporteur has been designated.

4.   The decision shall be taken in closed session after the Advocate General has been heard.

The agents and advisers of the State concerned and of the European Commission shall be heard if they so request.

Article 106

1.   In cases provided for in the last paragraph of Article 104 TEAEC and the last paragraph of Article 105 TEAEC, the provisions of Article 37 et seq. of these Rules shall apply.

2.   The application shall be served on the State to which the respondent person or undertaking belongs.

Chapter 11

OPINIONS

Article 107

1.   A request by the European Parliament for an opinion pursuant to Article 218 TFEU shall be served on the Council, on the European Commission and on the Member States. Such a request by the Council shall be served on the European Commission and on the European Parliament. Such a request by the European Commission shall be served on the Council, on the European Parliament and on the Member States. Such a request by a Member State shall be served on the Council, on the European Commission, on the European Parliament and on the other Member States.

The President shall prescribe a period within which the institutions and Member States which have been served with a request may submit their written observations.

2.   The Opinion may deal not only with the question whether the envisaged agreement is compatible which the provisions of the Treaties but also with the question whether the Union or any Union institution has the power to enter into that agreement.

Article 108

1.   As soon as the request for an Opinion has been lodged, the President shall designate a Judge to act as Rapporteur.

2.   The Court sitting in closed session shall, after hearing the Advocates General, deliver a reasoned Opinion.

3.   The Opinion, signed by the President, by the Judges who took part in the deliberations and by the Registrar, shall be served on the Council, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Member States.

Article 109

(repealed)

Chapter 12

REQUESTS FOR INTERPRETATION UNDER ARTICLE 68 OF THE EC TREATY

Article 109a

(repealed)

Chapter 13

SETTLEMENT OF THE DISPUTES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 35 OF THE UNION TREATY IN THE VERSION IN FORCE BEFORE THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE TREATY OF LISBON

Article 109b

1.   In the case of disputes between Member States as referred to in Article 35(7) TEU in the version in force before the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, as maintained in force by Protocol No 36 annexed to the Treaties, the matter shall be brought before the Court by an application by a party to the dispute. The application shall be served on the other Member States and on the European Commission.

In the case of disputes between Member States and the European Commission as referred to in Article 35(7) TEU in the version in force before the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, as maintained in force by Protocol No 36 annexed to the Treaties, the matter shall be brought before the Court by an application by a party to the dispute. The application shall be served on the other Member States, the Council and the European Commission if it was made by a Member State. The application shall be served on the Member States and on the Council if it was made by the European Commission.

The President shall prescribe a time-limit within which the institutions and the Member States on which the application has been served are to submit their written observations.

2.   As soon as the application referred to in paragraph 1 has been submitted, the President shall designate the Judge-Rapporteur. The First Advocate General shall thereupon assign the application to an Advocate General.

3.   The Court shall, after the Advocate General has delivered his Opinion, give its ruling on the dispute by way of judgment.

The procedure relating to the application shall include an oral part where a Member State or one of the institutions referred to in paragraph 1 so requests.

4.   The same procedure shall apply where an agreement concluded between the Member States confers jurisdiction on the Court to rule on a dispute between Member States or between Member States and an institution.

TITLE IV

APPEALS AGAINST DECISIONS OF THE GENERAL COURT

Article 110

Without prejudice to the arrangements laid down in Article 29(2)(b) and (c) and the fourth subparagraph of Article 29(3) of these Rules, in appeals against decisions of the General Court as referred to in Articles 56 and 57 of the Statute, the language of the case shall be the language of the decision of the General Court against which the appeal is brought.

Article 111

1.   An appeal shall be brought by lodging an application at the Registry of the Court of Justice or of the General Court.

2.   The Registry of the General Court shall immediately transmit to the Registry of the Court of Justice the papers in the case at first instance and, where necessary, the appeal.

Article 112

1.   An appeal shall contain:

(a)	the name and address of the appellant;

(b)	the names of the other parties to the proceedings before the General Court;

(c)	the pleas in law and legal arguments relied on;

(d)	the form or order sought by the appellant.

Article 37 and Article 38(2) and (3) of these Rules shall apply to appeals.

2.   The decision of the General Court appealed against shall be attached to the appeal. The appeal shall state the date on which the decision appealed against was notified to the appellant.

3.   If an appeal does not comply with Article 38(3) or with paragraph 2 of this Article, Article 38(7) of these Rules shall apply.

Article 113

1.   An appeal may seek:

—	to set aside, in whole or in part, the decision of the General Court;

—	the same form of order, in whole or in part, as that sought at first instance and shall not seek a different form of order.

2.   The subject-matter of the proceedings before the General Court may not be changed in the appeal.

Article 114

Notice of the appeal shall be served on all the parties to the proceedings before the General Court. Article 39 of these Rules shall apply.

Article 115

1.   Any party to the proceedings before the General Court may lodge a response within two months after service on him of notice of the appeal. The time-limit for lodging a response shall not be extended.

2.   A response shall contain:

(a)	the name and address of the party lodging it;

(b)	the date on which notice of the appeal was served on him;

(c)	the pleas in law and legal arguments relied on;

(d)	the form of order sought by the respondent.

Article 37 and Article 38(2) and (3) of these Rules shall apply.

Article 116

1.   A response may seek:

—	to dismiss, in whole or in part, the appeal or to set aside, in whole or in part, the decision of the General Court;

—	the same form of order, in whole or in part, as that sought at first instance and shall not seek a different form of order.

2.   The subject-matter of the proceedings before the General Court may not be changed in the response.

Article 117

1.   The appeal and the response may be supplemented by a reply and a rejoinder where the President, on application made by the appellant within seven days of service of the response, considers such further pleading necessary and expressly allows the submission of a reply in order to enable the appellant to put forward his point of view or in order to provide a basis for the decision on the appeal. The President shall prescribe the date by which the reply is to be submitted and, upon service of that pleading, the date by which the rejoinder is to be submitted.

2.   Where the response seeks to set aside, in whole or in part, the decision of the General Court on a plea in law which was not raised in the appeal, the appellant or any other party may submit a reply on that plea alone within two months of the service of the response in question. Paragraph 1 shall apply to any further pleading following such a reply.

Article 118

Subject to the following provisions, Articles 42(2), 43, 44, 55 to 90, 93, 95 to 100 and 102 of these Rules shall apply to the procedure before the Court of Justice on appeal from a decision of the General Court.

Article 119

Where the appeal is, in whole or in part, clearly inadmissible or clearly unfounded, the Court may at any time, acting on a report from the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate General, by reasoned order dismiss the appeal in whole or in part.

Article 120

After the submission of pleadings as provided for in Article 115(1) and, if any, Article 117(1) and (2) of these Rules, the Court, acting on a report from the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate General and the parties, may decide to dispense with the oral part of the procedure unless one of the parties submits an application setting out the reasons for which he wishes to be heard. The application shall be submitted within a period of three weeks from notification to the party of the close of the written procedure. That period may be extended by the President.

Article 121

The report referred to in Article 44(2) shall be presented to the Court after the pleadings provided for in Article 115(1) and where appropriate Article 117(1) and (2) of these Rules have been lodged. Where no such pleadings are lodged, the same procedure shall apply after the expiry of the period prescribed for lodging them.

Article 122

Where the appeal is unfounded or where the appeal is well founded and the Court itself gives final judgment in the case, the Court shall make a decision as to costs.

In proceedings between the Union and its servants:

—	Article 70 of these Rules shall apply only to appeals brought by institutions;

—	by way of derogation from Article 69(2) of these Rules, the Court may, in appeals brought by officials or other servants of an institution, order the parties to share the costs where equity so requires.

If the appeal is withdrawn Article 69(5) shall apply.

When an appeal brought by a Member State or an institution which did not intervene in the proceedings before the General Court is well founded, the Court of Justice may order that the parties share the costs or that the successful appellant pay the costs which the appeal has caused an unsuccessful party to incur.

Article 123

An application to intervene made to the Court in appeal proceedings shall be lodged before the expiry of a period of one month running from the publication referred to in Article 16(6).

TITLE IVA

REVIEW OF DECISIONS OF THE GENERAL COURT

Article 123a

Without prejudice to the arrangements laid down in Article 29(2)(b) and (c) and the fourth and fifth subparagraphs of Article 29(3) of these Rules, where, in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 62 of the Statute, the Court decides to review a decision of the General Court, the language of the case shall be the language of the decision of the General Court which is subject to review.

Article 123b

A special Chamber shall be set up for the purpose of deciding, in accordance with Article 123d, whether a decision of the General Court is to be reviewed in accordance with Article 62 of the Statute.

That Chamber shall be composed of the President of the Court and of four of the Presidents of the Chambers of five Judges designated according to the order of precedence laid down in Article 6 of these Rules.

Article 123c

As soon as the date for the delivery of a decision to be given under Article 256(2) or (3) TFEU is fixed, the Registry of the General Court shall inform the Registry of the Court of Justice. The decision shall be communicated immediately upon its delivery.

Article 123d

The proposal of the First Advocate General to review a decision of the General Court shall be forwarded to the President of the Court of Justice and notice of that transmission shall be given to the Registrar at the same time. Where the decision of the General Court has been given under Article 256(3) TFEU, the Registrar shall forthwith inform the General Court, the national court and the parties to the proceedings before the national court of the proposal to review.

As soon as the proposal to review has been received, the President shall designate the Judge-Rapporteur from among the Judges of the Chamber referred to in Article 123b.

That Chamber, acting on a report from the Judge-Rapporteur, shall decide whether the decision of the General Court is to be reviewed. The decision to review the decision of the General Court shall indicate the questions which are to be reviewed.

Where the decision of the General Court has been given under Article 256(2) TFEU, the General Court, the parties to the proceedings before it and the other interested parties referred to in the second paragraph of Article 62a of the Statute shall forthwith be informed by the Registrar of the decision of the Court of Justice to review the decision of the General Court.

Where the decision of the General Court has been given under Article 256(3) TFEU, the General Court, the national court, the parties to the proceedings before the national court and the other interested parties referred to in the second paragraph of Article 62a of the Statute shall forthwith be informed by the Registrar of the decision of the Court of Justice as to whether or not the decision of the General Court is to be reviewed. Notice of a decision to review the decision of the General Court shall be given in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 123e

The decision to review a decision of the General Court shall be notified to the parties and other interested parties referred to in the second paragraph of Article 62a of the Statute. The notification to the Member States, and the States, other than the Member States, which are parties to the EEA Agreement, as well as the EFTA Surveillance Authority, shall be accompanied by a translation of the decision of the Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the first and second subparagraphs of Article 104(1) of these Rules. The decision of the Court of Justice shall also be communicated to the General Court and, in cases involving a decision given by that Court under Article 256(3) TFEU, to the national court concerned.

Within one month of the notification referred to in the preceding paragraph, the parties and other persons to whom the decision of the Court of Justice has been notified may lodge statements or written observations on the questions which are subject to review.

As soon as a decision to review a decision of the General Court has been taken, the First Advocate General shall assign the review to an Advocate General.

After designating the Judge-Rapporteur, the President shall fix the date on which the latter is to present a preliminary report to the general meeting of the Court. That report shall contain the recommendations of the Judge-Rapporteur as to whether any preparatory steps should be taken, as to the formation of the Court to which the review should be assigned and as to whether a hearing should take place, and also as to the manner in which the Advocate General should present his views. The Court shall decide, after hearing the Advocate General, what action to take upon the recommendations of the Judge-Rapporteur.

Where the decision of the General Court which is subject to review was given under Article 256(2) TFEU, the Court of Justice shall make a decision as to costs.

TITLE V

PROCEDURES PROVIDED FOR BY THE EEA AGREEMENT

Article 123f

1.   In the case governed by Article 111(3) of the EEA Agreement, (3) the matter shall be brought before the Court by a request submitted by the Contracting Parties to the dispute. The request shall be served on the other Contracting Parties, on the European Commission, on the EFTA Surveillance Authority and, where appropriate, on the other persons to whom a reference for a preliminary ruling raising the same question of interpretation of European Union legislation would be notified.

The President shall prescribe a period within which the Contracting Parties and the other persons on whom the request has been served may submit written observations.

The request shall be made in one of the languages mentioned in Article 29(1). Paragraphs 3 to 5 of that Article shall apply. The provisions of Article 104(1) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

2.   As soon as the request referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article has been submitted, the President shall appoint a Judge-Rapporteur. The First Advocate General shall, immediately afterwards, assign the request to an Advocate General.

The Court shall, after hearing the Advocate General, give a reasoned decision on the request in closed session.

3.   The decision of the Court, signed by the President, by the Judges who took part in the deliberations and by the Registrar, shall be served on the Contracting Parties and on the other persons referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 123g

In the case governed by Article 1 of Protocol 34 to the EEA Agreement, the request of a court or tribunal of an EFTA State shall be served on the parties to the case, on the Contracting Parties, on the European Commission, on the EFTA Surveillance Authority and, where appropriate, on the other persons to whom a reference for a preliminary ruling raising the same question of interpretation of European Union legislation would be notified.

If the request is not submitted in one of the languages mentioned in Article 29(1), it shall be accompanied by a translation into one of those languages.

Within two months of this notification, the parties to the case, the Contracting Parties and the other persons referred to in the first paragraph shall be entitled to submit statements of case or written observations.

The procedure shall be governed by the provisions of these Rules, subject to the adaptations called for by the nature of the request.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Article 124

1.   The President shall instruct any person who is required to take an oath before the Court, as witness or expert, to tell the truth or to carry out his task conscientiously and impartially, as the case may be, and shall warn him of the criminal liability provided for in his national law in the event of any breach of this duty.

2.   The witness shall take the oath either in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 47(5) of these Rules or in the manner laid down by his national law.

Where his national law provides the opportunity to make, in judicial proceedings, a solemn affirmation equivalent to an oath as well as or instead of taking an oath, the witness may make such an affirmation under the conditions and in the form prescribed in his national law.

Where his national law provides neither for taking an oath nor for making a solemn affirmation, the procedure described in paragraph 1 shall be followed.

3.   Paragraph 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis to experts, a reference to the first subparagraph of Article 49(6) replacing in this case the reference to the first subparagraph of Article 47(5) of these Rules.

Article 125

Subject to the provisions of Article 253 TFEU and after consultation with the Governments concerned, the Court shall adopt supplementary rules concerning its practice in relation to:

(a)	letters rogatory;

(b)	applications for legal aid;

(c)	reports of perjury by witnesses or experts, delivered pursuant to Article 30 of the Statute.

Article 125a

The Court may issue practice directions relating in particular to the preparation and conduct of the hearings before it and to the lodging of written statements of case or written observations.

Article 126

These Rules replace the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice of the European Communities adopted on 4 December 1974 ( Official Journal of the European Communities L 350 of 28 December 126

1974, p. 1), as last amended on 15 May 1991.

Article 127

These Rules, which are authentic in the languages mentioned in Article 29(1) of these Rules, shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following their publication.

---

(1)  OJ L 176 of 4.7.1991, p. 7, and OJ L 383 of 29.12.1992, p. 117 (corrigenda), with amendments dated 21 February 1995 (published in OJ L 44 of 28.2.1995, p. 61), 11 March 1997 (published in OJ L 103 of 19.4.1997, p. 1, and OJ L 351 of 23.12.1997, p. 72 (corrigenda)), 16 May 2000 (published in OJ L 122 of 24.5.2000, p. 43), 28 November 2000 (published in OJ L 322 of 19.12.2000, p. 1), 3 April 2001 (published in OJ L 119 of 27.4.2001, p. 1), 17 September 2002 (published in OJ L 272 of 10.10.2002, p. 24, and OJ L 281 of 19.10.2002, p. 24 (corrigenda)), 8 April 2003 (published in OJ L 147 of 14.6.2003, p. 17), and for the Annex to these Rules, the decision of the Court of Justice of 10 June 2003 (published in OJ L 172 of 10.7.2003, p. 12), 19 April 2004 (published in OJ L 132 of 29.4.2004, p. 2), 20 April 2004 (published in OJ L 127 of 29.4.2004, p. 107), 12 July 2005 (published in OJ L 203 of 4.8.2005, p. 19), 18 October 2005 (OJ L 288 of 29.10.2005, p. 51), 18 December 2006 (OJ L 386 of 29.12.2006, p. 44, and OJ L 332 of 18.12.2007, pp. 108 and 109 (corrigenda)), 15 January 2008 (OJ L 24 of 29.1.2008, p. 39), 23 June 2008 (OJ L 200 of 29.7.2008, p. 20), 8 July 2008 (OJ L 200 of 29.7.2008, p. 18), 13 January 2009 (OJ L 24 of 28.1.2009, p. 8) and 23 March 2010 (OJ L 92 of 13.4.2010, p. 12).

(2)  See Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 of 17 June 1997 on certain provisions relating to the introduction of the euro (OJ L 162 of 19.6.1997, p. 1).

(3)  OJ L 1 of 3.1.1994, p. 27.

ANNEX

DECISION ON OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS

THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

having regard to Article 80(2) of the Rules of Procedure, which requires the Court to draw up a list of official holidays;

DECIDES:

Article 1

For the purposes of Article 80(2) of the Rules of Procedure the following shall be official holidays:

—	New Year's Day;

—	Easter Monday;

—

1 May;

—	Ascension Day;

—	Whit Monday;

—

23 June;

—	15 August;

—	1 November;

—	25 December;

—	26 December.

The official holidays referred to in the first paragraph hereof shall be those observed at the place where the Court of Justice has its seat.

Article 2

Article 80(2) of the Rules of Procedure shall apply only to the official holidays mentioned in Article 1 of this Decision.

Article 3

This Decision, which shall be annexed to the Rules of Procedure, shall enter into force on the day of their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

CONSOLIDATED VERSION OF THE

RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE GENERAL COURT

of 2 May 1991  (1)

SUMMARY

Interpretation (article 1)

Title 1

— Organisation of the General Court

Chapter 1

— President and Members of the General Court (Articles 2 to 9)

Chapter 2

— Constitution of the Chambers and designation of Judge-Rapporteurs and Advocates General (Articles 10 to 19)

Chapter 3

— Registry

Section 1

— The Registrar (Articles 20 to 27)

Section 2

— Other Departments (Articles 28 to 30)

Chapter 4

— The working of the General Court (Articles 31 to 34)

Chapter 5

— Languages (Articles 35 to 37)

Chapter 6

— Rights and obligations of agents, advisers and lawyers (Articles 38 to 42)

Title 2

— Procedure

Chapter 1

— Written procedure (Articles 43 to 54)

Chapter 2

— Oral procedure (Articles 55 to 63)

Chapter 3

— Measures of organisation of procedure and measures of inquiry

Section 1

— Measures of organisation of procedure (Article 64)

Section 2

— Measures of inquiry (Articles 65 to 67)

Section 3

— The summoning and examination of witnesses and experts (Articles 68 to 76)

Chapter 3a

— Expedited procedures (Article 76a)

Chapter 4

— Stay of proceedings and declining of jurisdiction by the General Court (Articles 77 to 80)

Chapter 5

— Judgments (Articles 81 to 86)

Chapter 6

— Costs (Articles 87 to 93)

Chapter 7

— Legal aid (Articles 94 to 97)

Chapter 8

— Discontinuance (Articles 98 and 99)

Chapter 9

— Service (Article 100)

Chapter 10

— Time-limits (Articles 101 to 103)

Title 3

— Special forms of procedure

Chapter 1

— Suspension of operation or enforcement and other interim measures (Articles 104 to 110)

Chapter 2

— Preliminary issues (Articles 111 to 114)

Chapter 3

— Intervention (Articles 115 and 116)

Chapter 4

— Judgments of the General Court delivered after its decision has been set aside and the case referred back to it (Articles 117 to 121)

Chapter 4a

— Decisions of the General Court given after its decision has been reviewed and the case referred back to it (Articles 121a to 121d)

Chapter 5

— Judgments by default and applications to set them aside (Article 122)

Chapter 6

— Exceptional review procedures

Section 1

— Third-party proceedings (Articles 123 and 124)

Section 2

— Revision (Articles 125 to 128)

Section 3

— Interpretation of judgments (Article 129)

Title 4

— Proceedings relating to intellectual property rights (Articles 130 to 136)

Title 5

— Appeals against decisions of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal (Articles 136a to 149)

Final provisions (Articles 150 and 151)

INTERPRETATION

Article 1

Throughout these Rules:

—	provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union are referred to by the number of the article concerned followed by ‘TFEU’;

—	provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community are referred to by the number of the article followed by ‘TEAEC’;

—	‘Statute’ means the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union;

—	‘EEA Agreement’ means the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

For the purposes of these Rules:

—	‘institution’ or ‘institutions’ means the institutions of the Union and the bodies, offices and agencies established by the Treaties, or by an act adopted in implementation thereof, and which may be parties before the General Court;

—	‘EFTA Surveillance Authority’ means the surveillance authority referred to in the EEA Agreement.

TITLE 1

ORGANISATION OF THE GENERAL COURT

Chapter 1

PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL COURT

Article 2

1.   Every Member of the General Court shall, as a rule, perform the function of Judge.

Members of the General Court are hereinafter referred to as ‘Judges’.

2.   Every Judge, with the exception of the President, may, in the circumstances specified in Articles 17 to 19, perform the function of Advocate General in a particular case.

References to the Advocate General in these Rules shall apply only where a Judge has been designated as Advocate General.

Article 3

The term of office of a Judge shall begin on the date laid down in his instrument of appointment. In the absence of any provision regarding the date, the term shall begin on the date of the instrument.

Article 4

1.   Before taking up his duties, a Judge shall take the following oath before the Court of Justice:

2.   Immediately after taking the oath, a Judge shall sign a declaration by which he solemnly undertakes that, both during and after his term of office, he will respect the obligations arising therefrom, and in particular the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after he has ceased to hold office, of certain appointments and benefits.

Article 5

When the Court of Justice is called upon to decide, after consulting the General Court, whether a Judge of the General Court no longer fulfils the requisite conditions or no longer meets the obligations arising from his office, the President of the General Court shall invite the Judge concerned to make representations to the General Court, in closed session and in the absence of the Registrar.

The General Court shall state the reasons for its opinion.

An opinion to the effect that a Judge of the General Court no longer fulfils the requisite conditions or no longer meets the obligations arising from his office must receive the votes of a majority of the Judges of the General Court. In that event, particulars of the voting shall be communicated to the Court of Justice.

Voting shall be by secret ballot; the Judge concerned shall not take part in the deliberations.

Article 6

With the exception of the President of the General Court and of the Presidents of the Chambers, the Judges shall rank equally in precedence according to their seniority in office.

Where there is equal seniority in office, precedence shall be determined by age.

Retiring Judges who are reappointed shall retain their former precedence.

Article 7

1.   The Judges shall, immediately after the partial replacement provided for in Article 254 TFEU, elect one of their number as President of the General Court for a term of three years.

2.   If the office of President of the General Court falls vacant before the normal date of expiry thereof, the General Court shall elect a successor for the remainder of the term.

3.   The elections provided for in this Article shall be by secret ballot. The Judge obtaining the votes of more than half the Judges composing the Court shall be elected. If no Judge obtains that majority, further ballots shall be held until that majority is attained.

Article 8

The President of the General Court shall direct the judicial business and the administration of the General Court. He shall preside at plenary sittings and deliberations.

The President of the General Court shall preside over the Grand Chamber.

If the President of the General Court is assigned to a Chamber of three or of five Judges, he shall preside over that Chamber.

Article 9

When the President of the General Court is absent or prevented from attending or when the office of President is vacant, the functions of President shall be exercised by a President of a Chamber according to the order of precedence laid down in Article 6.

If the President of the General Court and the Presidents of the Chambers are all absent or prevented from attending at the same time, or their posts are vacant at the same time, the functions of President shall be exercised by one of the other Judges according to the order of precedence laid down in Article 6.

Chapter 2

CONSTITUTION OF THE CHAMBERS AND DESIGNATION OF JUDGE-RAPPORTEURS AND ADVOCATES GENERAL

Article 10

1.   The General Court shall set up Chambers of three and of five Judges and a Grand Chamber of thirteen Judges and shall decide which Judges shall be attached to them.

2.   The decision taken in accordance with this Article shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 11

1.   Cases before the General Court shall be heard by Chambers composed of three or of five Judges in accordance with Article 10.

Cases may be heard by the General Court sitting in plenary session or by the Grand Chamber under the conditions laid down in Articles 14, 51, 106, 118, 124, 127 and 129.

Cases may be heard by a single Judge where they are delegated to him under the conditions specified in Articles 14 and 51 or assigned to him pursuant to Articles 124, 127(1) or 129(2).

2.   In cases coming before a Chamber, the term ‘General Court’ in these Rules shall designate that Chamber. In cases delegated or assigned to a single Judge the term ‘General Court’ in these Rules shall designate that Judge.

Article 12

1.   The General Court shall lay down criteria by which cases are to be allocated among the Chambers.

The decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 13

1.   As soon as the application initiating proceedings has been lodged, the President of the General Court shall assign the case to one of the Chambers.

2.   The President of the Chamber shall propose to the President of the General Court, in respect of each case assigned to the Chamber, the designation of a Judge to act as Rapporteur; the President of the General Court shall decide on the proposal.

Article 14

1.   Whenever the legal difficulty or the importance of the case or special circumstances so justify, a case may be referred to the General Court sitting in plenary session, to the Grand Chamber or to a Chamber composed of a different number of Judges.

2.

(1) The following cases assigned to a Chamber composed of three Judges may be heard and determined by the Judge-Rapporteur sitting as a single Judge where, having regard to the lack of difficulty of the questions of law or fact raised, to the limited importance of those cases and to the absence of other special circumstances, they are suitable for being so heard and determined and have been delegated under the conditions laid down in Article 51: (a) cases brought pursuant to Article 270 TFEU; (b) cases brought pursuant to the fourth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU, the third paragraph of Article 265 TFEU and Article 268 TFEU that raise only questions already clarified by established case-law or that form part of a series of cases in which the same relief is sought and of which one has already been finally decided; (c) cases brought pursuant to Article 272 TFEU. (2) Delegation to a single Judge shall not be possible: (a) in cases which raise issues as to the legality of an act of general application; (b) in cases concerning the implementation of the rules: — on competition and on control of concentrations, — relating to aid granted by States, — relating to measures to protect trade, — relating to the common organisation of the agricultural markets, with the exception of cases that form part of a series of cases in which the same relief is sought and of which one has already been finally decided; (c) in the cases referred to in Article 130(1). (3) The single Judge shall refer the case back to the Chamber if he finds that the conditions justifying its delegation are no longer satisfied.

3.   The decisions to refer or to delegate a case which are provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be taken under the conditions laid down in Article 51.

Article 15

1.   The Judges shall elect from amongst themselves, pursuant to the provisions of Article 7(3), the Presidents of the Chambers composed of three and of five Judges.

2.   The Presidents of Chambers of five Judges shall be elected for a term of three years. Their term of office shall be renewable once.

The election of the Presidents of Chambers of five Judges shall take place immediately after the election of the President of the General Court as provided for in Article 7(1).

3.   The Presidents of Chambers of three Judges shall be elected for a defined term.

4.   If the office of the President of a Chamber falls vacant before the normal date of expiry thereof, a successor shall be elected as President of the Chamber for the remainder of the term.

5.   The results of those elections shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 16

In cases coming before a Chamber the powers of the President shall be exercised by the President of the Chamber.

In cases delegated or assigned to a single Judge, with the exception of those referred to in Articles 105 and 106, the powers of the President shall be exercised by that Judge.

Article 17

When the General Court sits in plenary session, it shall be assisted by an Advocate General designated by the President of the General Court.

Article 18

A Chamber of the General Court may be assisted by an Advocate General if it is considered that the legal difficulty or the factual complexity of the case so requires.

Article 19

The decision to designate an Advocate General in a particular case shall be taken by the General Court sitting in plenary session at the request of the Chamber before which the case comes.

The President of the General Court shall designate the Judge called upon to perform the function of Advocate General in that case.

Chapter 3

REGISTRY

Section 1 — The Registrar

Article 20

1.   The General Court shall appoint the Registrar.

Two weeks before the date fixed for making the appointment, the President of the General Court shall inform the Judges of the applications which have been submitted for the post.

2.   An application shall be accompanied by full details of the candidate's age, nationality, university degrees, knowledge of any languages, present and past occupations and experience, if any, in judicial and international fields.

3.   The appointment shall be made following the procedure laid down in Article 7(3).

4.   The Registrar shall be appointed for a term of six years. He may be reappointed.

5.   Before he takes up his duties the Registrar shall take the oath before the General Court in accordance with Article 4.

6.   The Registrar may be deprived of his office only if he no longer fulfils the requisite conditions or no longer meets the obligations arising from his office; the General Court shall take its decision after giving the Registrar an opportunity to make representations.

7.   If the office of Registrar falls vacant before the usual date of expiry of the term thereof, the General Court shall appoint a new Registrar for a term of six years.

Article 21

The General Court may, following the procedure laid down in respect of the Registrar, appoint one or more Assistant Registrars to assist the Registrar and to take his place in so far as the Instructions to the Registrar referred to in Article 23 allow.

Article 22

Where the Registrar is absent or prevented from attending and, if necessary, where the Assistant Registrar is absent or so prevented, or where their posts are vacant, the President of the General Court shall designate an official or servant to carry out the duties of Registrar.

Article 23

Instructions to the Registrar shall be adopted by the General Court acting on a proposal from the President of the General Court.

Article 24

1.   There shall be kept in the Registry, under the control of the Registrar, a register in which all pleadings and supporting documents shall be entered in the order in which they are lodged.

2.   When a document has been registered, the Registrar shall make a note to that effect on the original and, if a party so requests, on any copy submitted for the purpose.

3.   Entries in the register and the notes provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be authentic.

4.   Rules for keeping the register shall be prescribed by the Instructions to the Registrar referred to in Article 23.

5.   Persons having an interest may consult the register at the Registry and may obtain copies or extracts on payment of a charge on a scale fixed by the General Court on a proposal from the Registrar.

The parties to a case may on payment of the appropriate charge also obtain copies of pleadings and authenticated copies of orders and judgments.

6.   Notice shall be given in the Official Journal of the European Union of the date of registration of an application initiating proceedings, the names and addresses of the parties, the subject-matter of the proceedings, the form of order sought by the applicant and a summary of the pleas in law and of the main supporting arguments.

7.   Where the Council or the European Commission is not a party to a case, the General Court shall send to it copies of the application and of the defence, without the annexes thereto, to enable it to assess whether the inapplicability of one of its acts is being invoked under Article 277 TFEU. Copies of those documents shall likewise be sent to the European Parliament to enable it to assess whether the inapplicability of an act adopted jointly by that institution and by the Council is being invoked under Article 277 TFEU.

Article 25

1.   The Registrar shall be responsible, under the authority of the President, for the acceptance, transmission and custody of documents and for effecting service as provided for by these Rules.

2.   The Registrar shall assist the General Court, the President and the Judges in all their official functions.

Article 26

The Registrar shall have custody of the seals. He shall be responsible for the records and be in charge of the publications of the General Court.

Article 27

Subject to Articles 5 and 33, the Registrar shall attend the sittings of the General Court.

Section 2 — Other Departments

Article 28

The officials and other servants whose task is to assist directly the President, the Judges and the Registrar shall be appointed in accordance with the Staff Regulations. They shall be responsible to the Registrar, under the authority of the President of the General Court.

Article 29

The officials and other servants referred to in Article 28 shall take the oath provided for in Article 20(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice before the President of the General Court in the presence of the Registrar.

Article 30

The Registrar shall be responsible, under the authority of the President of the General Court, for the administration of the General Court, its financial management and its accounts; he shall be assisted in this by the departments of the Court of Justice.

Chapter 4

THE WORKING OF THE GENERAL COURT

Article 31

1.   The dates and times of the sittings of the General Court shall be fixed by the President.

2.   The General Court may choose to hold one or more sittings in a place other than that in which the General Court has its seat.

Article 32

1.   Where, by reason of a Judge being absent or prevented from attending, there is an even number of Judges, the most junior Judge within the meaning of Article 6 shall abstain from taking part in the deliberations unless he is the Judge-Rapporteur. In this case, the Judge immediately senior to him shall abstain from taking part in the deliberations.

Where, following the designation of an Advocate General pursuant to Article 17, there is an even number of Judges in the General Court sitting in plenary session, the President of the Court shall designate, before the hearing and in accordance with a rota established in advance by the General Court and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, the Judge who will not take part in the judgment of the case.

2.   If after the General Court has been convened in plenary session, it is found that the quorum of nine Judges has not been attained, the President of the General Court shall adjourn the sitting until there is a quorum.

3.   If in any Chamber of three or of five Judges, the quorum of three Judges has not been attained, the President of that Chamber shall so inform the President of the General Court who shall designate another Judge to complete the Chamber.

The quorum of the Grand Chamber shall be nine Judges. If that quorum has not been attained, the President of the General Court shall designate another Judge to complete the Chamber.

If in the Grand Chamber or in any Chamber of five Judges the number of Judges provided for by Article 10(1) is not attained by reason of a Judge's being absent or prevented from attending before the date of the opening of the oral procedure, the President of the General Court shall designate a Judge to complete that Chamber in order to restore the number of Judges provided for.

4.   If in any Chamber of three or five Judges the number of Judges assigned to that Chamber is higher than three or five respectively, the President of the Chamber shall decide which of the Judges will be called upon to take part in the judgment of the case.

5.   If the single Judge to whom the case has been delegated or assigned is absent or prevented from attending, the President of the General Court shall designate another Judge to replace that Judge.

Article 33

1.   The General Court shall deliberate in closed session.

2.   Only those Judges who were present at the oral proceedings may take part in the deliberations.

3.   Every Judge taking part in the deliberations shall state his opinion and the reasons for it.

4.   Any Judge may require that any question be formulated in the language of his choice and communicated in writing to the other Judges before being put to the vote.

5.   The conclusions reached by the majority of the Judges after final discussion shall determine the decision of the General Court. Votes shall be cast in reverse order to the order of precedence laid down in Article 6.

6.   Differences of view on the substance, wording or order of questions, or on the interpretation of a vote shall be settled by decision of the General Court.

7.   Where the deliberations of the General Court concern questions of its own administration, the Registrar shall be present, unless the General Court decides to the contrary.

8.   Where the General Court sits without the Registrar being present it shall, if necessary, instruct the most junior Judge within the meaning of Article 6 to draw up minutes. The minutes shall be signed by this Judge and by the President.

Article 34

1.   Subject to any special decision of the General Court, its vacations shall be as follows:

—	from 18 December to 10 January,

—	from the Sunday before Easter to the second Sunday after Easter,

—	from 15 July to 15 September.

During the vacations, the functions of President shall be exercised at the place where the General Court has its seat either by the President himself, keeping in touch with the Registrar, or by a President of Chamber or other Judge invited by the President to take his place.

2.   In a case of urgency, the President may convene the Judges during the vacations.

3.   The General Court shall observe the official holidays of the place where it has its seat.

4.   The General Court may, in proper circumstances, grant leave of absence to any Judge.

Chapter 5

LANGUAGES

Article 35

1.   The language of a case shall be Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish or Swedish.

2.   The language of the case shall be chosen by the applicant, except that:

(a)	where the defendant is a Member State or a natural or legal person having the nationality of a Member State, the language of the case shall be the official language of that State; where that State has more than one official language, the applicant may choose between them;

(b)	at the joint request of the parties, the use of another of the languages mentioned in paragraph 1 for all or part of the proceedings may be authorised;

(c)

at the request of one of the parties, and after the opposite party and the Advocate General have been heard, the use of another of the languages mentioned in paragraph 1 as the language of the case for all or part of the proceedings may be authorised by way of derogation from subparagraph (b); such a request may not be submitted by an institution.

Requests as above may be decided on by the President; the latter may and, where he proposes to accede to a request without the agreement of all the parties, must refer the request to the General Court.

3.   The language of the case shall be used in the written and oral pleadings of the parties and in supporting documents, and also in the minutes and decisions of the General Court.

Any supporting documents expressed in another language must be accompanied by a translation into the language of the case.

In the case of lengthy documents, translations may be confined to extracts. However, the General Court may, of its own motion or at the request of a party, at any time call for a complete or fuller translation.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, a Member State shall be entitled to use its official language when intervening in a case before the General Court. This provision shall apply both to written statements and to oral addresses. The Registrar shall cause any such statement or address to be translated into the language of the case.

The States, other than the Member States, which are parties to the EEA Agreement, and also the EFTA Surveillance Authority, may be authorised to use one of the languages mentioned in paragraph 1, other than the language of the case, when they intervene in a case before the General Court. This provision shall apply both to written statements and oral addresses. The Registrar shall cause any such statement or address to be translated into the language of the case.

4.   Where a witness or expert states that he is unable adequately to express himself in one of the languages referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the General Court may authorise him to give his evidence in another language. The Registrar shall arrange for translation into the language of the case.

5.   The President in conducting oral proceedings, the Judge-Rapporteur both in his preliminary report and in his report for the hearing, Judges and the Advocate General in putting questions and the Advocate General in delivering his opinion may use one of the languages referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article other than the language of the case. The Registrar shall arrange for translation into the language of the case.

Article 36

1.   The Registrar shall, at the request of any Judge, of the Advocate General or of a party, arrange for anything said or written in the course of the proceedings before the General Court to be translated into the languages he chooses from those referred to in Article 35(1).

2.   Publications of the General Court shall be issued in the languages referred to in Article 1 of Council Regulation No 1.

Article 37

The texts of documents drawn up in the language of the case or in any other language authorised by the General Court pursuant to Article 35 shall be authentic.

Chapter 6

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF AGENTS, ADVISERS AND LAWYERS

Article 38

1.   Agents, advisers and lawyers, appearing before the General Court or before any judicial authority to which it has addressed letters rogatory, shall enjoy immunity in respect of words spoken or written by them concerning the case or the parties.

2.   Agents, advisers and lawyers shall enjoy the following further privileges and facilities:

(a)

papers and documents relating to the proceedings shall be exempt from both search and seizure; in the event of a dispute the customs officials or police may seal those papers and documents; they shall then be immediately forwarded to the General Court for inspection in the presence of the Registrar and of the person concerned;

(b)	agents, advisers and lawyers shall be entitled to such allocation of foreign currency as may be necessary for the performance of their duties;

(c)	agents, advisers and lawyers shall be entitled to travel in the course of duty without hindrance.

Article 39

In order to qualify for the privileges, immunities and facilities specified in Article 38, persons entitled to them shall furnish proof of their status as follows:

(a)	agents shall produce an official document issued by the party for whom they act and shall forward without delay a copy thereof to the Registrar;

(b)	advisers and lawyers shall produce a certificate signed by the Registrar. The validity of this certificate shall be limited to a specified period, which may be extended or curtailed according to the length of the proceedings.

Article 40

The privileges, immunities and facilities specified in Article 38 are granted exclusively in the interests of the proper conduct of proceedings.

The General Court may waive the immunity where it considers that the proper conduct of proceedings will not be hindered thereby.

Article 41

1.   If the General Court considers that the conduct of an adviser or lawyer towards the General Court, the President, a Judge or the Registrar is incompatible with the dignity of the General Court or with the requirements of the proper administration of justice, or that such adviser or lawyer uses his rights for purposes other than those for which they were granted, it shall so inform the person concerned. The General Court may inform the competent authorities to whom the person concerned is answerable; a copy of the letter sent to those authorities shall be forwarded to the person concerned.

On the same grounds the General Court may at any time, having heard the person concerned, exclude that person from the proceedings by order. That order shall have immediate effect.

2.   Where an adviser or lawyer is excluded from the proceedings, the proceedings shall be suspended for a period fixed by the President in order to allow the party concerned to appoint another adviser or lawyer.

3.   Decisions taken under this Article may be rescinded.

Article 42

The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to university teachers who have a right of audience before the General Court in accordance with Article 19 of the Statute.

TITLE 2

PROCEDURE

Chapter 1

WRITTEN PROCEDURE

Article 43

1.   The original of every pleading must be signed by the party's agent or lawyer.

The original, accompanied by all annexes referred to therein, shall be lodged together with five copies for the General Court and a copy for every other party to the proceedings. Copies shall be certified by the party lodging them.

2.   Institutions shall in addition produce, within time-limits laid down by the General Court, translations of all pleadings into the other languages provided for by Article 1 of Council Regulation No 1. The second subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply.

3.   All pleadings shall bear a date. In the reckoning of time-limits for taking steps in proceedings only the date of lodgment at the Registry shall be taken into account.

4.   To every pleading there shall be annexed a file containing the documents relied on in support of it, together with a schedule listing them.

5.   Where in view of the length of a document only extracts from it are annexed to the pleading, the whole document or a full copy of it shall be lodged at the Registry.

6.   Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 5, the date on which a copy of the signed original of a pleading, including the schedule of documents referred to in paragraph 4, is received at the Registry by telefax or other technical means of communication available to the General Court shall be deemed to be the date of lodgment for the purposes of compliance with the time-limits for taking steps in proceedings, provided that the signed original of the pleading, accompanied by the annexes and copies referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, is lodged at the Registry no later than ten days thereafter. Article 102(2) shall not be applicable to this period of ten days.

7.   Without prejudice to the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 or to paragraphs 2 to 5, the General Court may by decision determine the criteria for a procedural document sent to the Registry by electronic means to be deemed to be the original of that document. That decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 44

1.   An application of the kind referred to in Article 21 of the Statute shall state:

(a)	the name and address of the applicant;

(b)	the designation of the party against whom the application is made;

(c)	the subject-matter of the proceedings and a summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based;

(d)	the form of order sought by the applicant;

(e)	where appropriate, the nature of any evidence offered in support.

2.   For the purposes of the proceedings, the application shall state an address for service in the place where the General Court has its seat and the name of the person who is authorised and has expressed willingness to accept service.

In addition to or instead of specifying an address for service as referred to in the first subparagraph, the application may state that the lawyer or agent agrees that service is to be effected on him by telefax or other technical means of communication.

If the application does not comply with the requirements referred to in the first and second subparagraphs, all service on the party concerned for the purposes of the proceedings shall be effected, for so long as the defect has not been cured, by registered letter addressed to the agent or lawyer of that party. By way of derogation from the first paragraph of Article 100, service shall then be deemed to have been duly effected by the lodging of the registered letter at the post office of the place where the General Court has its seat.

3.   The lawyer acting for a party must lodge at the Registry a certificate that he is authorised to practise before a Court of a Member State or of another State which is a party to the EEA Agreement.

4.   The application shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by the documents specified in the second paragraph of Article 21 of the Statute.

5.   An application made by a legal person governed by private law shall be accompanied by:

(a)	the instrument or instruments constituting and regulating that legal person or a recent extract from the register of companies, firms or associations or any other proof of its existence in law;

(b)	proof that the authority granted to the applicant's lawyer has been properly conferred on him by someone authorised for the purpose.

5a. An application submitted under Article 272 TFEU pursuant to an arbitration clause contained in a contract governed by public or private law, entered into by the Union or on its behalf, shall be accompanied by a copy of the contract which contains that clause.

6.   If an application does not comply with the requirements set out in paragraphs 3 to 5 of this Article, the Registrar shall prescribe a reasonable period within which the applicant is to comply with them whether by putting the application itself in order or by producing any of the above-mentioned documents. If the applicant fails to put the application in order or to produce the required documents within the time prescribed, the General Court shall decide whether the non-compliance with these conditions renders the application formally inadmissible.

Article 45

The application shall be served on the defendant. In a case where Article 44(6) applies, service shall be effected as soon as the application has been put in order or the General Court has declared it admissible notwithstanding the failure to observe the formal requirements set out in that Article.

Article 46

1.   Within two months after service on him of the application, the defendant shall lodge a defence, stating:

(a)	the name and address of the defendant;

(b)	the arguments of fact and law relied on;

(c)	the form of order sought by the defendant;

(d)	the nature of any evidence offered by him.

The provisions of Article 44(2) to (5) shall apply to the defence.

2.   In proceedings between the Union and its servants the defence shall be accompanied by the complaint within the meaning of Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials and by the decision rejecting the complaint together with the dates on which the complaint was submitted and the decision notified.

3.   The time-limit laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article may, in exceptional circumstances, be extended by the President on a reasoned application by the defendant.

Article 47

1.   The application initiating the proceedings and the defence may be supplemented by a reply from the applicant and by a rejoinder from the defendant unless the General Court, after hearing the Advocate General, decides that a second exchange of pleadings is unnecessary because the documents before it are sufficiently comprehensive to enable the parties to elaborate their pleas and arguments in the course of the oral procedure. However, the General Court may authorise the parties to supplement the documents if the applicant presents a reasoned request to that effect within two weeks from the notification of that decision.

2.   The President shall fix the time-limits within which these pleadings are to be lodged.

Article 48

1.   In reply or rejoinder a party may offer further evidence. The party must, however, give reasons for the delay in offering it.

2.   No new plea in law may be introduced in the course of proceedings unless it is based on matters of law or of fact which come to light in the course of the procedure.

If in the course of the procedure one of the parties puts forward a new plea in law which is so based, the President may, even after the expiry of the normal procedural time-limits, acting on a report of the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate General, allow the other party time to answer on that plea.

Consideration of the admissibility of the plea shall be reserved for the final judgment.

Article 49

At any stage of the proceedings the General Court may, after hearing the Advocate General, prescribe any measure of organisation of procedure or any measure of inquiry referred to in Articles 64 and 65 or order that a previous inquiry be repeated or expanded.

Article 50

1.   The President may, at any time, after hearing the parties and the Advocate General, order that two or more cases concerning the same subject-matter shall, on account of the connection between them, be joined for the purposes of the written or oral procedure or of the final judgment. The cases may subsequently be disjoined. The President may refer these matters to the General Court.

2.   The agents, advisers or lawyers of all the parties to the joined cases, including interveners, may examine at the Registry the pleadings served on the parties in the other cases concerned. The President may, however, on application by a party, without prejudice to Article 67(3), exclude secret or confidential documents from that consultation.

Article 51

1.   In the cases specified in Article 14(1), and at any stage in the proceedings, the Chamber hearing the case or the President of the General Court may, either on its or his own initiative or at the request of one of the parties, propose to the General Court sitting in plenary session that the case be referred to the General Court sitting in plenary session, to the Grand Chamber or to a Chamber composed of a different number of Judges. The decision to refer a case to a formation composed of a greater number of Judges shall be taken by the General Court in plenary session, after hearing the Advocate General.

The case shall be decided by a Chamber composed of at least five Judges where a Member State or an institution of the Union which is a party to the proceedings so requests.

2.   The decision to delegate a case to a single Judge in the situations specified in Article 14(2) shall be taken, after the parties have been heard, unanimously by the Chamber composed of three Judges before which the case is pending.

Where a Member State or an institution of the Union which is a party to the proceedings objects to the case being heard by a single Judge the case shall be maintained before or referred to the Chamber to which the Judge-Rapporteur belongs.

Article 52

1.   Without prejudice to Article 49, the President shall,

(a)	after the rejoinder has been lodged, or

(b)	where no reply or no rejoinder has been lodged within the time-limit fixed in accordance with Article 47(2), or

(c)	where the party concerned has waived his right to lodge a reply or rejoinder, or

(d)	where the General Court has decided that there is no need, in accordance with Article 47(1), to supplement the application and the defence by a reply and a rejoinder, or

(e)	where the General Court has decided that it is appropriate to adjudicate under an expedited procedure in accordance with Article 76a(1),

fix a date on which the Judge-Rapporteur is to present his preliminary report to the General Court.

2.   The preliminary report shall contain recommendations as to whether measures of organisation of procedure or measures of inquiry should be undertaken and whether the case should be referred to the General Court sitting in plenary session, to the Grand Chamber or to a Chamber composed of a different number of Judges.

The General Court shall decide, after hearing the Advocate General, what action to take upon the recommendations of the Judge-Rapporteur.

Article 53

Where the General Court decides to open the oral procedure without undertaking measures of organisation of procedure or ordering a preparatory inquiry, the President of the General Court shall fix the opening date.

Article 54

Without prejudice to any measures of organisation of procedure or measures of inquiry which may be arranged at the stage of the oral procedure, where, during the written procedure, measures of organisation of procedure or measures of inquiry have been instituted and completed, the President shall fix the date for the opening of the oral procedure.

Chapter 2

ORAL PROCEDURE

Article 55

1.   The General Court shall deal with the cases before it in the order in which the preparatory inquiries in them have been completed. Where the preparatory inquiries in several cases are completed simultaneously, the order in which they are to be dealt with shall be determined by the dates of entry in the register of the applications initiating them respectively.

2.   The President may in special circumstances order that a case be given priority over others.

The President may in special circumstances, after hearing the parties and the Advocate General, either on his own initiative or at the request of one of the parties, defer a case to be dealt with at a later date. On a joint application by the parties the President may order that a case be deferred.

Article 56

The proceedings shall be opened and directed by the President, who shall be responsible for the proper conduct of the hearing.

Article 57

The oral proceedings in cases heard in camera shall not be published.

Article 58

The President may in the course of the hearing put questions to the agents, advisers or lawyers of the parties.

The other Judges and the Advocate General may do likewise.

Article 59

A party may address the General Court only through his agent, adviser or lawyer.

Article 60

Where an Advocate General has not been designated in a case, the President shall declare the oral procedure closed at the end of the hearing.

Article 61

1.   Where the Advocate General delivers his opinion in writing, he shall lodge it at the Registry, which shall communicate it to the parties.

2.   After the delivery, orally or in writing, of the opinion of the Advocate General the President shall declare the oral procedure closed.

Article 62

The General Court may, after hearing the Advocate General, order the reopening of the oral procedure.

Article 63

1.   The Registrar shall draw up minutes of every hearing. The minutes shall be signed by the President and by the Registrar and shall constitute an official record.

2.   The parties may inspect the minutes at the Registry and obtain copies at their own expense.

Chapter 3

MEASURES OF ORGANISATION OF PROCEDURE AND MEASURES OF INQUIRY

Section 1 — Measures of organisation of procedure

Article 64

1.   The purpose of measures of organisation of procedure shall be to ensure that cases are prepared for hearing, procedures carried out and disputes resolved under the best possible conditions. They shall be prescribed by the General Court, after hearing the Advocate General.

2.   Measures of organisation of procedure shall, in particular, have as their purpose:

(a)	to ensure efficient conduct of the written and oral procedure and to facilitate the taking of evidence;

(b)	to determine the points on which the parties must present further argument or which call for measures of inquiry;

(c)	to clarify the forms of order sought by the parties, their pleas in law and arguments and the points at issue between them;

(d)	to facilitate the amicable settlement of proceedings.

3.   Measures of organisation of procedure may, in particular, consist of:

(a)	putting questions to the parties;

(b)	inviting the parties to make written or oral submissions on certain aspects of the proceedings;

(c)	asking the parties or third parties for information or particulars;

(d)	asking for documents or any papers relating to the case to be produced;

(e)	summoning the parties' agents or the parties in person to meetings.

4.   Each party may, at any stage of the procedure, propose the adoption or modification of measures of organisation of procedure. In that case, the other parties shall be heard before those measures are prescribed.

Where the procedural circumstances so require, the Registrar shall inform the parties of the measures envisaged by the General Court and shall give them an opportunity to submit comments orally or in writing.

5.   If the General Court sitting in plenary session or as the Grand Chamber decides to prescribe measures of organisation of procedure and does not undertake such measures itself, it shall entrust the task of so doing to the Chamber to which the case was originally assigned or to the Judge-Rapporteur.

If a Chamber prescribes measures of organisation of procedure and does not undertake such measures itself, it shall entrust the task to the Judge-Rapporteur.

The Advocate General shall take part in measures of organisation of procedure.

Section 2 — Measures of inquiry

Article 65

Without prejudice to Articles 24 and 25 of the Statute, the following measures of inquiry may be adopted:

(a)	the personal appearance of the parties;

(b)	a request for information and production of documents;

(c)	oral testimony;

(d)	the commissioning of an expert's report;

(e)	an inspection of the place or thing in question.

Article 66

1.   The General Court, after hearing the Advocate General, shall prescribe the measures of inquiry that it considers appropriate by means of an order setting out the facts to be proved. Before the General Court decides on the measures of inquiry referred to in Article 65(c), (d) and (e) the parties shall be heard.

The order shall be served on the parties.

2.   Evidence may be submitted in rebuttal and previous evidence may be amplified.

Article 67

1.   Where the General Court sitting in plenary session or as the Grand Chamber orders a preparatory inquiry and does not undertake such an inquiry itself, it shall entrust the task of so doing to the Chamber to which the case was originally assigned or to the Judge-Rapporteur.

Where a Chamber orders a preparatory inquiry and does not undertake such an inquiry itself, it shall entrust the task of so doing to the Judge-Rapporteur.

The Advocate General shall take part in the measures of inquiry.

2.   The parties may be present at the measures of inquiry.

3.   Subject to the provisions of Article 116(2) and (6), the General Court shall take into consideration only those documents which have been made available to the lawyers and agents of the parties and on which they have been given an opportunity of expressing their views.

Where it is necessary for the General Court to verify the confidentiality, in respect of one or more parties, of a document that may be relevant in order to rule in a case, that document shall not be communicated to the parties at the stage of such verification.

Where a document to which access has been denied by an institution has been produced before the General Court in proceedings relating to the legality of that denial, that document shall not be communicated to the other parties.

Section 3 — The summoning and examination of witnesses and experts

Article 68

1.   The General Court may, either of its own motion or on application by a party, and after hearing the Advocate General and the parties, order that certain facts be proved by witnesses. The order shall set out the facts to be established.

The General Court may summon a witness of its own motion or on application by a party or at the instance of the Advocate General.

An application by a party for the examination of a witness shall state precisely about what facts and for what reasons the witness should be examined.

2.   The witness shall be summoned by an order containing the following information:

(a)	the surname, forenames, description and address of the witness;

(b)	an indication of the facts about which the witness is to be examined;

(c)	where appropriate, particulars of the arrangements made by the General Court for reimbursement of expenses incurred by the witness, and of the penalties which may be imposed on defaulting witnesses.

The order shall be served on the parties and the witnesses.

3.   The General Court may make the summoning of a witness for whose examination a party has applied conditional upon the deposit with the cashier of the General Court of a sum sufficient to cover the taxed costs thereof; the General Court shall fix the amount of the payment.

The cashier of the General Court shall advance the funds necessary in connection with the examination of any witness summoned by the General Court of its own motion.

4.   After the identity of the witness has been established, the President shall inform him that he will be required to vouch the truth of his evidence in the manner laid down in paragraph 5 of this Article and in Article 71.

The witness shall give his evidence to the General Court, the parties having been given notice to attend. After the witness has given his main evidence the President may, at the request of a party or of his own motion, put questions to him.

The other Judges and the Advocate General may do likewise.

Subject to the control of the President, questions may be put to witnesses by the representatives of the parties.

5.   Subject to the provisions of Article 71, the witness shall, after giving his evidence, take the following oath:

The General Court may, after hearing the parties, exempt a witness from taking the oath.

6.   The Registrar shall draw up minutes in which the evidence of each witness is reproduced.

The minutes shall be signed by the President or by the Judge-Rapporteur responsible for conducting the examination of the witness, and by the Registrar. Before the minutes are thus signed, witnesses must be given an opportunity to check the content of the minutes and to sign them.

The minutes shall constitute an official record.

Article 69

1.   Witnesses who have been duly summoned shall obey the summons and attend for examination.

2.   If a witness who has been duly summoned fails to appear before the General Court, the latter may impose upon him a pecuniary penalty not exceeding EUR 5 000 and may order that a further summons be served on the witness at his own expense.

The same penalty may be imposed upon a witness who, without good reason, refuses to give evidence or to take the oath or where appropriate to make a solemn affirmation equivalent thereto.

3.   If the witness proffers a valid excuse to the General Court, the pecuniary penalty imposed on him may be cancelled. The pecuniary penalty imposed may be reduced at the request of the witness where he establishes that it is disproportionate to his income.

4.   Penalties imposed and other measures ordered under this Article shall be enforced in accordance with Articles 280 TFEU and 299 TFEU and Article 164 TEAEC.

Article 70

1.   The General Court may order that an expert's report be obtained. The order appointing the expert shall define his task and set a time-limit within which he is to make his report.

2.   The expert shall receive a copy of the order, together with all the documents necessary for carrying out his task. He shall be under the supervision of the Judge-Rapporteur, who may be present during his investigation and who shall be kept informed of his progress in carrying out his task.

The General Court may request the parties or one of them to lodge security for the costs of the expert's report.

3.   At the request of the expert, the General Court may order the examination of witnesses. Their examination shall be carried out in accordance with Article 68.

4.   The expert may give his opinion only on points which have been expressly referred to him.

5.   After the expert has made his report, the General Court may order that he be examined, the parties having been given notice to attend.

Subject to the control of the President, questions may be put to the expert by the representatives of the parties.

6.   Subject to the provisions of Article 71, the expert shall, after making his report, take the following oath before the General Court:

The General Court may, after hearing the parties, exempt the expert from taking the oath.

Article 71

1.   The President shall instruct any person who is required to take an oath before the General Court, as witness or expert, to tell the truth or to carry out his task conscientiously and impartially, as the case may be, and shall warn him of the criminal liability provided for in his national law in the event of any breach of this duty.

2.   Witnesses and experts shall take the oath either in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 68(5) and the first subparagraph of Article 70(6) or in the manner laid down by their national law.

3.   Where the national law provides the opportunity to make, in judicial proceedings, a solemn affirmation equivalent to an oath as well as or instead of taking an oath, the witnesses and experts may make such an affirmation under the conditions and in the form prescribed in their national law.

Where their national law provides neither for taking an oath nor for making a solemn affirmation, the procedure described in the first paragraph of this Article shall be followed.

Article 72

1.   The General Court may, after hearing the Advocate General, decide to report to the competent authority referred to in Annex III to the Rules supplementing the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice of the Member State whose courts have penal jurisdiction in any case of perjury on the part of a witness or expert before the General Court, account being taken of the provisions of Article 71.

2.   The Registrar shall be responsible for communicating the decision of the General Court. The decision shall set out the facts and circumstances on which the report is based.

Article 73

1.   If one of the parties objects to a witness or to an expert on the ground that he is not a competent or proper person to act as witness or expert or for any other reason, or if a witness or expert refuses to give evidence, to take the oath or to make a solemn affirmation equivalent thereto, the matter shall be resolved by the General Court.

2.   An objection to a witness or to an expert shall be raised within two weeks after service of the order summoning the witness or appointing the expert; the statement of objection must set out the grounds of objection and indicate the nature of any evidence offered.

Article 74

1.   Witnesses and experts shall be entitled to reimbursement of their travel and subsistence expenses. The cashier of the General Court may make a payment to them towards these expenses in advance.

2.   Witnesses shall be entitled to compensation for loss of earnings, and experts to fees for their services. The cashier of the General Court shall pay witnesses and experts their compensation or fees after they have carried out their respective duties or tasks.

Article 75

1.   The General Court may, on application by a party or of its own motion, issue letters rogatory for the examination of witnesses or experts.

2.   Letters rogatory shall be issued in the form of an order which shall contain the name, forenames, description and address of the witness or expert, set out the facts on which the witness or expert is to be examined, name the parties, their agents, lawyers or advisers, indicate their addresses for service and briefly describe the subject-matter of the proceedings.

Notice of the order shall be served on the parties by the Registrar.

3.   The Registrar shall send the order to the competent authority named in Annex I to the Rules supplementing the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice of the Member State in whose territory the witness or expert is to be examined. Where necessary, the order shall be accompanied by a translation into the official language or languages of the Member State to which it is addressed.

The authority named pursuant to the first subparagraph shall pass on the order to the judicial authority which is competent according to its national law.

The competent judicial authority shall give effect to the letters rogatory in accordance with its national law. After implementation the competent judicial authority shall transmit to the authority named pursuant to the first subparagraph the order embodying the letters rogatory, any documents arising from the implementation and a detailed statement of costs. These documents shall be sent to the Registrar.

The Registrar shall be responsible for the translation of the documents into the language of the case.

4.   The General Court shall defray the expenses occasioned by the letters rogatory without prejudice to the right to charge them, where appropriate, to the parties.

Article 76

1.   The Registrar shall draw up minutes of every hearing. The minutes shall be signed by the President and by the Registrar and shall constitute an official record.

2.   The parties may inspect the minutes and any expert's report at the Registry and obtain copies at their own expense.

Chapter 3a

EXPEDITED PROCEDURES

Article 76a

1.   The General Court may, on application by the applicant or the defendant, after hearing the other parties and the Advocate General, decide, having regard to the particular urgency and the circumstances of the case, to adjudicate under an expedited procedure.

An application for a case to be decided under an expedited procedure shall be made by a separate document lodged at the same time as the application initiating the proceedings or the defence. That application may state that certain pleas in law or arguments or certain passages of the application initiating the proceedings or the defence are raised only in the event that the case is not decided under an expedited procedure, in particular by enclosing with the application an abbreviated version of the application initiating the proceedings and a list of the annexes which are to be taken into consideration only if the case is decided under an expedited procedure.

By way of derogation from Article 55, cases on which the General Court has decided to adjudicate under an expedited procedure shall be given priority.

2.   By way of derogation from Article 46(1), where the applicant has requested, in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, that the case should be decided under an expedited procedure, the period prescribed for the lodging of the defence shall be one month. If the General Court decides not to allow the request, the defendant shall be granted an additional period of one month in order to lodge or, as the case may be, supplement the defence. The time-limits laid down in this subparagraph may be extended pursuant to Article 46(3).

Under the expedited procedure, the pleadings referred to in Articles 47(1) and 116(4) and (5) may be lodged only if the General Court, by way of measures of organisation of procedure adopted in accordance with Article 64, so allows.

3.   Without prejudice to Article 48, the parties may supplement their arguments and offer further evidence in the course of the oral procedure. They must, however, give reasons for the delay in offering such further evidence.

4.   The decision of the General Court to adjudicate under an expedited procedure may prescribe conditions as to the volume and presentation of the pleadings of the parties; the subsequent conduct of the proceedings or as to the pleas in law and arguments on which the General Court will be called upon to decide.

If one of the parties does not comply with any one of those conditions, the decision to adjudicate under an expedited procedure may be revoked. The proceedings shall then continue in accordance with the ordinary procedure.

Chapter 4

STAY OF PROCEEDINGS AND DECLINING OF JURISDICTION BY THE GENERAL COURT

Article 77

Without prejudice to Article 123(4), Article 128 and Article 129(4), proceedings may be stayed:

(a)	in the circumstances specified in the third paragraph of Article 54 of the Statute;

(b)	where an appeal is brought before the Court of Justice against a decision of the General Court disposing of the substantive issues in part only, disposing of a procedural issue concerning a plea of lack of competence or inadmissibility or dismissing an application to intervene;

(c)	at the joint request of the parties;

(d)	in other particular cases where the proper administration of justice so requires.

Article 78

The decision to stay the proceedings shall be made by order of the President after hearing the parties and the Advocate General; the President may refer the matter to the General Court. A decision ordering that the proceedings be resumed shall be adopted in accordance with the same procedure. The orders referred to in this Article shall be served on the parties.

Article 79

1.   The stay of proceedings shall take effect on the date indicated in the order of stay or, in the absence of such an indication, on the date of that order.

While proceedings are stayed time shall, except for the purposes of the time-limit prescribed in Article 115(1) for an application to intervene, cease to run for the purposes of prescribed time-limits for all parties.

2.   Where the order of stay does not fix the length of the stay, it shall end on the date indicated in the order of resumption or, in the absence of such indication, on the date of the order of resumption.

From the date of resumption time shall begin to run afresh for the purposes of the time-limits.

Article 80

Decisions declining jurisdiction in the circumstances specified in the third paragraph of Article 54 of the Statute shall be made by the General Court by way of an order which shall be served on the parties.

Chapter 5

JUDGMENTS

Article 81

The judgment shall contain:

—	a statement that it is the judgment of the General Court,

—	the date of its delivery,

—	the names of the President and of the Judges taking part in it,

—	the name of the Advocate General, if designated,

—	the name of the Registrar,

—	the description of the parties,

—	the names of the agents, advisers and lawyers of the parties,

—	a statement of the forms of order sought by the parties,

—	a statement, where appropriate, that the Advocate General delivered his opinion,

—	a summary of the facts,

—	the grounds for the decision,

—	the operative part of the judgment, including the decision as to costs.

Article 82

1.   The judgment shall be delivered in open court; the parties shall be given notice to attend to hear it.

2.   The original of the judgment, signed by the President, by the Judges who took part in the deliberations and by the Registrar, shall be sealed and deposited at the Registry; the parties shall be served with certified copies of the judgment.

3.   The Registrar shall record on the original of the judgment the date on which it was delivered.

Article 83

Subject to the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 60 of the Statute, the judgment shall be binding from the date of its delivery.

Article 84

1.   Without prejudice to the provisions relating to the interpretation of judgments, the General Court may, of its own motion or on application by a party made within two weeks after the delivery of a judgment, rectify clerical mistakes, errors in calculation and obvious slips in it.

2.   The parties, whom the Registrar shall duly notify, may lodge written observations within a period prescribed by the President.

3.   The General Court shall take its decision in closed session.

4.   The original of the rectification order shall be annexed to the original of the rectified judgment. A note of this order shall be made in the margin of the original of the rectified judgment.

Article 85

If the General Court should omit to give a decision on costs, any party may within a month after service of the judgment apply to the General Court to supplement its judgment.

The application shall be served on the opposite party and the President shall prescribe a period within which that party may lodge written observations.

After these observations have been lodged, the General Court shall decide both on the admissibility and on the substance of the application.

Article 86

The Registrar shall arrange for the publication of cases before the General Court.

Chapter 6

COSTS

Article 87

1.   A decision as to costs shall be given in the final judgment or in the order which closes the proceedings.

2.   The unsuccessful party shall be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the successful party's pleadings.

Where there are several unsuccessful parties the General Court shall decide how the costs are to be shared.

3.   Where each party succeeds on some and fails on other heads, or where the circumstances are exceptional, the General Court may order that the costs be shared or that each party bear its own costs.

The General Court may order a party, even if successful, to pay costs which it considers that party to have unreasonably or vexatiously caused the opposite party to incur.

4.   The Member States and institutions which intervened in the proceedings shall bear their own costs.

The States, other than the Member States, which are parties to the EEA Agreement, and also the EFTA Surveillance Authority, shall bear their own costs if they intervene in the proceedings.

The General Court may order an intervener other than those mentioned in the preceding subparagraph to bear his own costs.

5.   A party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings shall be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the observations of the other party on the discontinuance. However, upon application by the party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings, the costs shall be borne by the other party if this appears justified by the conduct of that party.

Where the parties have come to an agreement on costs, the decision as to costs shall be in accordance with that agreement.

If costs are not applied for, the parties shall bear their own costs.

6.   Where a case does not proceed to judgment, the costs shall be in the discretion of the General Court.

Article 88

Without prejudice to the second subparagraph of Article 87(3), in proceedings between the Union and its servants the institutions shall bear their own costs.

Article 89

Costs necessarily incurred by a party in enforcing a judgment or order of the General Court shall be refunded by the opposite party on the scale in force in the State where the enforcement takes place.

Article 90

Proceedings before the General Court shall be free of charge, except that:

(a)	where a party has caused the General Court to incur avoidable costs, the General Court may order that party to refund them;

(b)	where copying or translation work is carried out at the request of a party, the cost shall, in so far as the Registrar considers it excessive, be paid for by that party on the scale of charges referred to in Article 24(5).

Article 91

Without prejudice to the preceding Article, the following shall be regarded as recoverable costs:

(a)	sums payable to witnesses and experts under Article 74;

(b)	expenses necessarily incurred by the parties for the purpose of the proceedings, in particular the travel and subsistence expenses and the remuneration of agents, advisers or lawyers.

Article 92

1.   If there is a dispute concerning the costs to be recovered, the General Court hearing the case shall, on application by the party concerned and after hearing the opposite party, make an order, from which no appeal shall lie.

2.   The parties may, for the purposes of enforcement, apply for an authenticated copy of the order.

Article 93

1.   Sums due from the cashier of the General Court and from debtors of the General Court shall be paid in euro.

2.   Where expenses to be refunded have been incurred in a currency other than the euro or where the steps in respect of which payment is due were taken in a country of which the euro is not the currency, conversions of currency shall be made at the official rates of exchange of the European Central Bank on the day of payment.

Chapter 7

LEGAL AID

Article 94

1.   In order to ensure effective access to justice, legal aid shall be granted for proceedings before the General Court in accordance with the following rules.

Legal aid shall cover, in whole or in part, the costs involved in legal assistance and representation by a lawyer in proceedings before the General Court. The cashier of the General Court shall be responsible for those costs.

2.   Any natural person who, because of his economic situation, is wholly or partly unable to meet the costs referred to in paragraph 1 shall be entitled to legal aid.

The economic situation shall be assessed, taking into account objective factors such as income, capital and the family situation.

3.   Legal aid shall be refused if the action in respect of which the application is made appears to be manifestly inadmissible or manifestly unfounded.

Article 95

1.   An application for legal aid may be made before or after the action has been brought.

The application need not be made through a lawyer.

2.   The application for legal aid must be accompanied by all information and supporting documents making it possible to assess the applicant's economic situation, such as a certificate issued by the competent national authority attesting to his economic situation.

If the application is made before the action has been brought, the applicant must briefly state the subject-matter of the proposed action, the facts of the case and the arguments in support of the action. The application must be accompanied by supporting documents in that regard.

3.   The General Court may provide, in accordance with Article 150, for the compulsory use of a form in making an application for legal aid.

Article 96

1.   Before giving its decision on an application for legal aid, the General Court shall invite the other party to submit its written observations unless it is already apparent from the information produced that the conditions laid down in Article 94(2) have not been satisfied or that those laid down in Article 94(3) have been satisfied.

2.   The decision on the application for legal aid shall be taken by the President by way of an order. He may refer the matter to the General Court.

An order refusing legal aid shall state the reasons on which it is based.

3.   In any order granting legal aid a lawyer shall be designated to represent the person concerned.

If the person has not indicated his choice of lawyer or if his choice is unacceptable, the Registrar shall send a copy of the order granting legal aid and a copy of the application to the competent authority of the Member State concerned mentioned in Annex II to the Rules supplementing the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice. The lawyer instructed to represent the applicant shall be designated having regard to the suggestions made by that authority.

An order granting legal aid may specify an amount to be paid to the lawyer instructed to represent the person concerned or fix a limit which the lawyer's disbursements and fees may not, in principle, exceed. It may provide for a contribution to be made by the person concerned to the costs referred to in Article 94(1), having regard to his economic situation.

4.   The introduction of an application for legal aid shall suspend the period prescribed for the bringing of the action until the date of notification of the order making a decision on that application or, in the cases referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 3, of the order designating the lawyer instructed to represent the applicant.

5.   If the circumstances which led to the grant of legal aid should alter during the proceedings, the President may at any time, on his own motion or on application, withdraw legal aid, having heard the person concerned. He may refer the matter to the General Court.

An order withdrawing legal aid shall contain a statement of reasons.

6.   No appeal shall lie from orders made under this article.

Article 97

1.   Where legal aid is granted, the President may, on application by the lawyer of the person concerned, decide that an amount by way of advance should be paid to the lawyer.

2.   Where, by virtue of the decision closing the proceedings, the recipient of legal aid has to bear his own costs, the President shall fix the lawyer's disbursements and fees which are to be paid by the cashier of the General Court by way of a reasoned order from which no appeal shall lie. He may refer the matter to the General Court.

3.   Where, in the decision closing the proceedings, the General Court has ordered another party to pay the costs of the recipient of legal aid, that other party shall be required to refund to the cashier of the General Court any sums advanced by way of aid.

In the event of challenge or if the party does not comply with a demand by the Registrar to refund those sums, the President shall rule by way of reasoned order from which no appeal shall lie. The President may refer the matter to the General Court.

4.   Where the recipient of the aid is unsuccessful, the General Court may, in its decision, as to costs, closing the proceedings, if equity so requires, order that one or more parties should bear their own costs or that those costs should be borne, in whole or in part, by the cashier of the General Court by way of legal aid.

Chapter 8

DISCONTINUANCE

Article 98

If, before the General Court has given its decision, the parties reach a settlement of their dispute and intimate to the General Court the abandonment of their claims, the President shall order the case to be removed from the register and shall give a decision as to costs in accordance with Article 87(5) having regard to any proposals made by the parties on the matter.

This provision shall not apply to proceedings under Articles 263 TFEU and 265 TFEU.

Article 99

If the applicant informs the General Court in writing that he wishes to discontinue the proceedings, the President shall order the case to be removed from the register and shall give a decision as to costs in accordance with Article 87(5).

Chapter 9

SERVICE

Article 100

1.   Where these Rules require that a document be served on a person, the Registrar shall ensure that service is effected at that person's address for service either by the dispatch of a copy of the document by registered post with a form for acknowledgement of receipt or by personal delivery of the copy against a receipt.

The Registrar shall prepare and certify the copies of documents to be served, save where the parties themselves supply the copies in accordance with Article 43(1).

2.   Where, in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 44(2), the addressee has agreed that service is to be effected on him by telefax or other technical means of communication, any procedural document including a judgment or order of the General Court may be served by the transmission of a copy of the document by such means.

Judgments and orders notified pursuant to Article 55 of the Statute to the Member States and institutions which were not parties to the proceedings shall be sent to them by telefax or any other technical means of communication.

Where, for technical reasons or on account of the length of the document, such transmission is impossible or impracticable, the document shall be served, if the addressee has failed to state an address for service, at his address in accordance with the procedures laid down in paragraph 1. The addressee shall be so advised by telefax or other technical means of communication. Service shall then be deemed to have been effected on the addressee by registered post on the tenth day following the lodging of the registered letter at the post office of the place where the General Court has its seat, unless it is shown by the acknowledgement of receipt that the letter was received on a different date or the addressee informs the Registrar, within three weeks of being advised by telefax or other technical means of communication, that the document to be served has not reached him.

Chapter 10

TIME-LIMITS

Article 101

1.   Any period of time prescribed by the Treaties, the Statute or these Rules for the taking of any procedural step shall be reckoned as follows:

(a)	Where a period expressed in days, weeks, months or years is to be calculated from the moment at which an event occurs or an action takes place, the day during which that event occurs or that action takes place shall not be counted as falling within the period in question;

(b)

A period expressed in weeks, months or in years shall end with the expiry of whichever day in the last week, month or year is the same day of the week, or falls on the same date, as the day during which the event or action from which the period is to be calculated occurred or took place. If, in a period expressed in months or in years, the day on which it should expire does not occur in the last month, the period shall end with the expiry of the last day of that month;

(c)	Where a period is expressed in months and days, it shall first be reckoned in whole months, then in days;

(d)	Periods shall include official holidays, Sundays and Saturdays;

(e)	Periods shall not be suspended during the judicial vacations.

2.   If the period would otherwise end on a Saturday, Sunday or official holiday, it shall be extended until the end of the first following working day.

The list of official holidays drawn up by the Court of Justice and published in the Official Journal of the European Union shall apply to the General Court.

Article 102

1.   Where the period of time allowed for commencing proceedings against a measure adopted by an institution runs from the publication of that measure, that period shall be calculated, for the purposes of Article 101(1)(a), from the end of the 14th day after publication thereof in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.   The prescribed time-limits shall be extended on account of distance by a single period of ten days.

Article 103

1.   Any time-limit prescribed pursuant to these Rules may be extended by whoever prescribed it.

2.   The President may delegate power of signature to the Registrar for the purpose of fixing time-limits which, pursuant to these Rules, it falls to the President to prescribe, or of extending such time-limits.

TITLE 3

SPECIAL FORMS OF PROCEDURE

Chapter 1

SUSPENSION OF OPERATION OR ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER INTERIM MEASURES

Article 104

1.   An application to suspend the operation of any measure adopted by an institution, made pursuant to Article 278 TFEU and Article 157 TEAEC, shall be admissible only if the applicant is challenging that measure in proceedings before the General Court.

An application for the adoption of any other interim measure referred to in Article 279 TFEU shall be admissible only if it is made by a party to a case before the General Court and relates to that case.

2.   An application of a kind referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall state the subject-matter of the proceedings, the circumstances giving rise to urgency and the pleas of fact and law establishing a prima facie case for the interim measures applied for.

3.   The application shall be made by a separate document and in accordance with the provisions of Articles 43 and 44.

Article 105

1.   The application shall be served on the opposite party, and the President of the General Court shall prescribe a short period within which that party may submit written or oral observations.

2.   The President of the General Court may order a preparatory inquiry.

The President of the General Court may grant the application even before the observations of the opposite party have been submitted. This decision may be varied or cancelled even without any application being made by any party.

Article 106

A Judge, designated for the purpose in the decision adopted by the General Court in accordance with Article 10, shall replace the President of the General Court in deciding an application in the event that the President is absent or prevented from dealing with it.

Article 107

1.   The decision on the application shall take the form of a reasoned order. The order shall be served on the parties forthwith.

2.   The enforcement of the order may be made conditional on the lodging by the applicant of security, of an amount and nature to be fixed in the light of the circumstances.

3.   Unless the order fixes the date on which the interim measure is to lapse, the measure shall lapse when final judgment is delivered.

4.   The order shall have only an interim effect, and shall be without prejudice to the decision on the substance of the case by the General Court.

Article 108

On application by a party, the order may at any time be varied or cancelled on account of a change in circumstances.

Article 109

Rejection of an application for an interim measure shall not bar the party who made it from making a further application on the basis of new facts.

Article 110

The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to applications to suspend the enforcement of a decision of the General Court or of any measure adopted by another institution, submitted pursuant to Articles 280 TFEU and 299 TFEU and Article 164 TEAEC.

The order granting the application shall fix, where appropriate, a date on which the interim measure is to lapse.

Chapter 2

PRELIMINARY ISSUES

Article 111

Where it is clear that the General Court has no jurisdiction to take cognisance of an action or where the action is manifestly inadmissible or manifestly lacking any foundation in law, the General Court may, by reasoned order, after hearing the Advocate General and without taking further steps in the proceedings, give a decision on the action.

Article 112

The decision to refer an action to the Court of Justice, pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 54 of the Statute, shall, in the case of manifest lack of competence, be made by reasoned order and without taking any further steps in the proceedings.

Article 113

The General Court may at any time, of its own motion, after hearing the parties, decide whether there exists any absolute bar to proceeding with an action or declare that the action has become devoid of purpose and that there is no need to adjudicate on it; it shall give its decision in accordance with Article 114(3) and (4).

Article 114

1.   A party applying to the General Court for a decision on admissibility, on lack of competence or other preliminary plea not going to the substance of the case shall make the application by a separate document.

The application must contain the pleas of fact and law relied on and the form of order sought by the applicant; any supporting documents must be annexed to it.

2.   As soon as the application has been lodged, the President shall prescribe a period within which the opposite party may lodge a document containing the form of order sought and the arguments of fact and law relied on.

3.   Unless the General Court otherwise decides, the remainder of the proceedings shall be oral.

4.   The General Court shall, after hearing the Advocate General, decide on the application or reserve its decision for the final judgment. It shall refer the case to the Court of Justice if the case falls within the jurisdiction of that Court.

If the General Court refuses the application or reserves its decision, the President shall prescribe new time-limits for further steps in the proceedings.

Chapter 3

INTERVENTION

Article 115

1.   An application to intervene must be made either within six weeks of the publication of the notice referred to in Article 24(6) or, subject to Article 116(6), before the decision to open the oral procedure as provided for in Article 53.

2.   The application shall contain:

(a)	the description of the case;

(b)	the description of the parties;

(c)	the name and address of the intervener;

(d)	the intervener's address for service at the place where the General Court has its seat;

(e)	the form of order sought, by one or more of the parties, in support of which the intervener is applying for leave to intervene;

(f)	a statement of the circumstances establishing the right to intervene, where the application is submitted pursuant to the second or third paragraph of Article 40 of the Statute.

Articles 43 and 44 shall apply.

3.   The intervener shall be represented in accordance with Article 19 of the Statute.

Article 116

1.   The application shall be served on the parties.

The President shall give the parties an opportunity to submit their written or oral observations before deciding on the application.

The President shall decide on the application by order or shall refer the decision to the General Court. The order must be reasoned if the application is dismissed.

2.   If an intervention for which application has been made within the period of six weeks prescribed in Article 115(1) is allowed, the intervener shall receive a copy of every document served on the parties. The President may, however, on application by one of the parties, omit secret or confidential documents.

3.   The intervener must accept the case as he finds it at the time of his intervention.

4.   In the cases referred to in paragraph 2 above, the President shall prescribe a period within which the intervener may submit a statement in intervention.

The statement in intervention shall contain:

(a)	a statement of the form of order sought by the intervener in support of or opposing, in whole or in part, the form of order sought by one of the parties;

(b)	the pleas in law and arguments relied on by the intervener;

(c)	where appropriate, the nature of any evidence offered.

5.   After the statement in intervention has been lodged, the President shall, where necessary, prescribe a time-limit within which the parties may reply to that statement.

6.   Where the application to intervene is made after the expiry of the period of six weeks prescribed in Article 115(1), the intervener may, on the basis of the Report for the Hearing communicated to him, submit his observations during the oral procedure.

Chapter 4

JUDGMENTS OF THE GENERAL COURT DELIVERED AFTER ITS DECISION HAS BEEN SET ASIDE AND THE CASE REFERRED BACK TO IT

Article 117

Where the Court of Justice sets aside a judgment or an order of the General Court and refers the case back to that Court, the latter shall be seised of the case by the judgment so referring it.

Article 118

1.   Where the Court of Justice sets aside a judgment or an order of a Chamber, the President of the General Court may assign the case to another Chamber composed of the same number of Judges.

2.   Where the Court of Justice sets aside a judgment delivered or an order made by the General Court sitting in plenary session or by the Grand Chamber, the case shall be assigned to that Court or that Chamber as the case may be.

2a. Where the Court of Justice sets aside a judgment delivered or an order made by a single Judge, the President of the General Court shall assign the case to a Chamber composed of three Judges of which that Judge is not a member.

3.   In the cases provided for in paragraphs 1, 2 and 2a of this Article, Articles 13(2), 14(1) and 51 shall apply.

Article 119

1.   Where the written procedure before the General Court has been completed when the judgment referring the case back to it is delivered, the course of the procedure shall be as follows:

(a)	Within two months from the service upon him of the judgment of the Court of Justice the applicant may lodge a statement of written observations;

(b)	In the month following the communication to him of that statement, the defendant may lodge a statement of written observations. The time allowed to the defendant for lodging it may in no case be less than two months from the service upon him of the judgment of the Court of Justice;

(c)

In the month following the simultaneous communication to the intervener of the observations of the applicant and the defendant, the intervener may lodge a statement of written observations. The time allowed to the intervener for lodging it may in no case be less than two months from the service upon him of the judgment of the Court of Justice.

2.   Where the written procedure before the General Court had not been completed when the judgment referring the case back to the General Court was delivered, it shall be resumed, at the stage which it had reached, by means of measures of organisation of procedure adopted by the General Court.

3.   The General Court may, if the circumstances so justify, allow supplementary statements of written observations to be lodged.

Article 120

The procedure shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Title 2 of these Rules.

Article 121

The General Court shall decide on the costs relating to the proceedings instituted before it and to the proceedings on the appeal before the Court of Justice.

Chapter 4a

DECISIONS OF THE GENERAL COURT GIVEN AFTER ITS DECISION HAS BEEN REVIEWED AND THE CASE REFERRED BACK TO IT

Article 121a

Where the Court of Justice reviews a judgment or an order of the General Court and refers the case back to that Court, the latter shall be seised of the case by the judgment so referring it.

Article 121b

1.   Where the Court of Justice refers back to the General Court a case which was originally heard by a Chamber, the President of the General Court may assign the case to another Chamber composed of the same number of Judges.

2.   Where the Court of Justice refers back to the General Court a case which was originally heard by the General Court sitting in plenary session or by the Grand Chamber, the case shall be assigned to that Court or that Chamber as the case may be.

3.   In the cases provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, Articles 13(2), 14(1) and 51(1) shall apply.

Article 121c

1.   Within one month of the service of the judgment of the Court of Justice, the parties to the proceedings before the General Court may lodge their observations on the conclusions to be drawn from that judgment for the outcome of the proceedings. This time-limit may not be extended.

2.   The General Court may, by way of measures of organisation of procedure, invite the parties to the proceedings before it to lodge written submissions and may decide to hear the parties in an oral procedure.

Article 121d

The General Court shall decide on the costs relating to the proceedings instituted before it following the review of its decision by the Court of Justice.

Chapter 5

JUDGMENTS BY DEFAULT AND APPLICATIONS TO SET THEM ASIDE

Article 122

1.   If a defendant on whom an application initiating proceedings has been duly served fails to lodge a defence to the application in the proper form within the time prescribed, the applicant may apply to the General Court for judgment by default.

The application shall be served on the defendant. The General Court may decide to open the oral procedure on the application.

2.   Before giving judgment by default the General Court shall consider whether the application initiating proceedings is admissible, whether the appropriate formalities have been complied with, and whether the application appears well founded. It may order a preparatory inquiry.

3.   A judgment by default shall be enforceable. The General Court may, however, grant a stay of execution until it has given its decision on any application under paragraph 4 of this Article to set aside the judgment, or it may make execution subject to the provision of security of an amount and nature to be fixed in the light of the circumstances; this security shall be released if no such application is made or if the application fails.

4.   Application may be made to set aside a judgment by default.

The application to set aside the judgment must be made within one month from the date of service of the judgment and must be lodged in the form prescribed by Articles 43 and 44.

5.   After the application has been served, the President shall prescribe a period within which the other party may submit his written observations.

The proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Title 2 of these Rules.

6.   The General Court shall decide by way of a judgment which may not be set aside. The original of this judgment shall be annexed to the original of the judgment by default. A note of the judgment on the application to set aside shall be made in the margin of the original of the judgment by default.

Chapter 6

EXCEPTIONAL REVIEW PROCEDURES

Section 1 — Third-party proceedings

Article 123

1.   Articles 43 and 44 shall apply to an application initiating third-party proceedings. In addition such an application shall:

(a)	specify the judgment contested;

(b)	state how that judgment is prejudicial to the rights of the third party;

(c)	indicate the reasons for which the third party was unable to take part in the original case before the General Court.

The application must be made against all the parties to the original case.

Where the judgment has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, the application must be lodged within two months of the publication.

2.   The General Court may, on application by the third party, order a stay of execution of the judgment. The provisions of Title 3, Chapter 1, shall apply.

3.   The contested judgment shall be varied on the points on which the submissions of the third party are upheld.

The original of the judgment in the third-party proceedings shall be annexed to the original of the contested judgment. A note of the judgment in the third-party proceedings shall be made in the margin of the original of the contested judgment.

4.   Where an appeal before the Court of Justice and an application initiating third-party proceedings before the General Court contest the same judgment of the General Court, the General Court may, after hearing the parties, stay the proceedings until the Court of Justice has delivered its judgment.

Article 124

The application initiating third-party proceedings shall be assigned to the Chamber which delivered the judgment which is the subject of the application; if the General Court sitting in plenary session or the Grand Chamber of the General Court delivered the judgment, the application shall be assigned to it. If the judgment has been delivered by a single Judge, the application initiating third-party proceedings shall be assigned to that Judge.

Section 2 — Revision

Article 125

Without prejudice to the period of ten years prescribed in the third paragraph of Article 44 of the Statute, an application for revision of a judgment shall be made within three months of the date on which the facts on which the application is based came to the applicant's knowledge.

Article 126

1.   Articles 43 and 44 shall apply to an application for revision. In addition such an application shall:

(a)	specify the judgment contested;

(b)	indicate the points on which the application is based;

(c)	set out the facts on which the application is based;

(d)	indicate the nature of the evidence to show that there are facts justifying revision of the judgment, and that the time-limits laid down in Article 125 have been observed.

2.   The application must be made against all parties to the case in which the contested judgment was given.

Article 127

1.   The application for revision shall be assigned to the Chamber which delivered the judgment which is the subject of the application; if the General Court sitting in plenary session or the Grand Chamber of the General Court delivered the judgment, the application shall be assigned to it. If the judgment has been delivered by a single Judge, the application for revision shall be assigned to that Judge.

2.   Without prejudice to its decision on the substance, the General Court shall, after hearing the Advocate General, having regard to the written observations of the parties, give its decision on the admissibility of the application.

3.   If the General Court finds the application admissible, it shall proceed to consider the substance of the application and shall give its decision in the form of a judgment in accordance with these Rules.

4.   The original of the revising judgment shall be annexed to the original of the judgment revised. A note of the revising judgment shall be made in the margin of the original of the judgment revised.

Article 128

Where an appeal before the Court of Justice and an application for revision before the General Court concern the same judgment of the General Court, the General Court may, after hearing the parties, stay the proceedings until the Court of Justice has delivered its judgment.

Section 3 — Interpretation of judgments

Article 129

1.   An application for interpretation of a judgment shall be made in accordance with Articles 43 and 44. In addition it shall specify:

(a)	the judgment in question;

(b)	the passages of which interpretation is sought.

The application must be made against all the parties to the case in which the judgment was given.

2.   The application for interpretation shall be assigned to the Chamber which delivered the judgment which is the subject of the application; if the General Court sitting in plenary session or the Grand Chamber of the General Court delivered the judgment, the application shall be assigned to it. If the judgment has been delivered by a single Judge, the application for interpretation shall be assigned to that Judge.

3.   The General Court shall give its decision in the form of a judgment after having given the parties an opportunity to submit their observations and after hearing the Advocate General.

The original of the interpreting judgment shall be annexed to the original of the judgment interpreted. A note of the interpreting judgment shall be made in the margin of the original of the judgment interpreted.

4.   Where an appeal before the Court of Justice and an application for interpretation before the General Court concern the same judgment of the General Court, the General Court may, after hearing the parties, stay the proceedings until the Court of Justice has delivered its judgment.

TITLE 4

PROCEEDINGS RELATING TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Article 130

1.   Subject to the special provisions of this Title, the provisions of these Rules of Procedure shall apply to proceedings brought against the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) and against the Community Plant Variety Office (both hereinafter referred to as ‘the Office’), and concerning the application of the rules relating to an intellectual property regime.

2.   The provisions of this Title shall not apply to actions brought directly against the Office without prior proceedings before a Board of Appeal.

Article 131

1.   The application shall be drafted in one of the languages described in Article 35(1), according to the applicant's choice.

2.   The language in which the application is drafted shall become the language of the case if the applicant was the only party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal or if another party to those proceedings does not object to this within a period laid down for that purpose by the Registrar after the application has been lodged.

If, within that period, the parties to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal inform the Registrar of their agreement on the choice, as the language of the case, of one of the languages referred to in Article 35(1), that language shall become the language of the case before the General Court.

In the event of an objection to the choice of the language of the case made by the applicant within the period referred to above and in the absence of an agreement on the matter between the parties to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal, the language in which the application for registration in question was filed at the Office shall become the language of the case. If, however, on a reasoned request by any party and after hearing the other parties, the President finds that the use of that language would not enable all parties to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal to follow the proceedings and defend their interests and that only the use of another language from among those mentioned in Article 35(1) makes it possible to remedy that situation, he may designate that other language as the language of the case; the President may refer the matter to the General Court.

3.   In the pleadings and other documents addressed to the General Court and during the oral procedure, the applicant may use the language chosen by him in accordance with paragraph 1 and each of the other parties may use a language chosen by that party from those mentioned in Article 35(1).

4.   If, by virtue of paragraph 2, a language other than that in which the application is drafted becomes the language of the case, the Registrar shall cause the application to be translated into the language of the case.

Each party shall be required, within a reasonable period to be prescribed for that purpose by the Registrar, to produce a translation into the language of the case of the pleadings or documents other than the application that are lodged by that party in a language other than the language of the case pursuant to paragraph 3. The party producing the translation, which shall be authentic within the meaning of Article 37, shall certify its accuracy. If the translation is not produced within the period prescribed, the pleading or the procedural document in question shall be removed from the file.

The Registrar shall cause everything said during the oral procedure to be translated into the language of the case and, at the request of any party, into the language used by that party in accordance with paragraph 3.

Article 132

1.   Without prejudice to Article 44, the application shall contain the names of all the parties to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal and the addresses which they had given for the purposes of the notifications to be effected in the course of those proceedings.

The contested decision of the Board of Appeal shall be appended to the application. The date on which the applicant was notified of that decision must be indicated.

2.   If the application does not comply with paragraph 1, Article 44(6) shall apply.

Article 133

1.   The Registrar shall inform the Office and all the parties to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of the lodging of the application. He shall arrange for service of the application after determining the language of the case in accordance with Article 131(2).

2.   The application shall be served on the Office, as defendant, and on the parties to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal other than the applicant. Service shall be effected in the language of the case.

Service of the application on a party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal shall be effected by registered post with a form of acknowledgment of receipt at the address given by the party concerned for the purposes of the notifications to be effected in the course of the proceedings before the Board of Appeal.

3.   Once the application has been served, the Office shall forward to the General Court the file relating to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal.

Article 134

1.   The parties to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal other than the applicant may participate, as interveners, in the proceedings before the General Court by responding to the application in the manner and within the period prescribed.

2.   The interveners referred to in paragraph 1 shall have the same procedural rights as the main parties.

They may support the form of order sought by a main party and they may apply for a form of order and put forward pleas in law independently of those applied for and put forward by the main parties.

3.   An intervener, as referred to in paragraph 1, may, in his response lodged in accordance with Article 135(1), seek an order annulling or altering the decision of the Board of Appeal on a point not raised in the application and put forward pleas in law not raised in the application.

Such submissions seeking orders or putting forward pleas in law in the intervener's response shall cease to have effect should the applicant discontinue the proceedings.

4.   In derogation from Article 122, the default procedure shall not apply where an intervener, as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, has responded to the application in the manner and within the period prescribed.

Article 135

1.   The Office and the parties to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal other than the applicant shall lodge their responses to the application within a period of two months from the service of the application.

Article 46 shall apply to the responses.

2.   The application and the responses may be supplemented by replies and rejoinders by the parties, including the interveners referred to in Article 134(1), where the President, on a reasoned application made within two weeks of service of the responses or replies, considers such further pleading necessary and allows it in order to enable the party concerned to put forward its point of view.

The President shall prescribe the period within which such pleadings are to be submitted.

3.   Without prejudice to the foregoing, in the cases referred to in Article 134(3), the other parties may, within a period of two months of service upon them of the response, submit a pleading confined to responding to the form of order sought and the pleas in law submitted for the first time in the response of an intervener. That period may be extended by the President on a reasoned application from the party concerned.

4.   The parties' pleadings may not change the subject-matter of the proceedings before the Board of Appeal.

Article 135a

After the submission of pleadings as provided for in Article 135(1) and, if applicable, Article 135(2) and (3), the General Court, acting upon a report of the Judge-Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate General and the parties, may decide to rule on the action without an oral procedure unless one of the parties submits an application setting out the reasons for which he wishes to be heard. The application shall be submitted within a period of one month from notification to the party of closure of the written procedure. That period may be extended by the President.

Article 136

1.   Where an action against a decision of a Board of Appeal is successful, the General Court may order the Office to bear only its own costs.

2.   Costs necessarily incurred by the parties for the purposes of the proceedings before the Board of Appeal and costs incurred for the purposes of the production, prescribed by the second subparagraph of Article 131(4), of translations of pleadings or other documents into the language of the case shall be regarded as recoverable costs.

In the event of inaccurate translations being produced, the second subparagraph of Article 87(3) shall apply.

TITLE 5

APPEALS AGAINST DECISIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION CIVIL SERVICE TRIBUNAL

Article 136a

Without prejudice to the arrangements laid down in Article 35(2)(b) and (c) and the fourth subparagraph of Article 35(3) of these Rules, in appeals against decisions of the Civil Service Tribunal as referred to in Articles 9 and 10 of the Annex to the Statute, the language of the case shall be the language of the decision of the Civil Service Tribunal against which the appeal is brought.

Article 137

1.   An appeal shall be brought by lodging a notice of appeal at the Registry of the General Court or of the Civil Service Tribunal.

2.   The Registry of the Civil Service Tribunal shall immediately transmit to the Registry of the General Court the papers in the case at first instance and, where necessary, the appeal.

Article 138

1.   The notice of appeal shall contain:

(a)	the name and address of the appellant;

(b)	the names of the other parties to the proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal;

(c)	the pleas in law and legal arguments relied on;

(d)	the form of order sought by the appellant.

Article 43 and Article 44(2) and (3) shall apply to appeals.

2.   The decision of the Civil Service Tribunal appealed against shall be attached to the notice. The notice shall state the date on which the decision appealed against was notified to the appellant.

3.   If a notice of appeal does not comply with Article 44(3) or with paragraph (2) of this Article, Article 44(6) shall apply.

Article 139

1.   An appeal may seek:

(a)	to set aside, in whole or in part, the decision of the Civil Service Tribunal;

(b)	the same form of order, in whole or in part, as that sought at first instance and shall not seek a different form of order.

2.   The subject — matter of the proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal may not be changed in the appeal.

Article 140

The notice of appeal shall be served on all the parties to the proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal. Article 45 shall apply.

Article 141

1.   Any party to the proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal may lodge a response within two months after service on him of the notice of appeal. The time — limit for lodging a response shall not be extended.

2.   A response shall contain:

(a)	the name and address of the respondent;

(b)	the date on which notice of the appeal was served on the respondent;

(c)	the pleas in law and legal arguments relied on;

(d)	the form of order sought by the respondent.

Article 43 and Article 44(2) and (3) shall apply.

Article 142

1.   A response may seek:

(a)	to dismiss, in whole or in part, the appeal or to set aside, in whole or in part, the decision of the Civil Service Tribunal;

(b)	the same form of order, in whole or in part, as that sought at first instance and shall not seek a different form of order.

2.   The subject-matter of the proceedings before the Civil Service Tribunal may not be changed in the response.

Article 143

1.   The notice of appeal and the response may be supplemented by a reply and a rejoinder where the President, on application made by the appellant within seven days of service of the response, considers such further pleading necessary and expressly allows the submission of a reply in order to enable the appellant to put forward his point of view or in order to provide a basis for the decision on the appeal. The President shall prescribe the date by which the reply is to be submitted and, upon service of that pleading, the date by which the rejoinder is to be submitted.

2.   Where the response seeks to set aside, in whole or in part, the decision of the Civil Service Tribunal on a plea in law which was not raised in the appeal, the appellant or any other party may submit a reply on that plea alone within two months of the service of the response in question. Paragraph 1 shall apply to any further pleading following such a reply.

Article 144

Subject to the provisions of Articles 144 to 149 inclusive, Articles 48(2) and Articles 49, 50, 51(1), 52, 55 to 64, 76a to 110, 115(2) and (3), 116, 123 to 127 and 129 shall apply to the procedure before the General Court on appeal from a decision of the Civil Service Tribunal.

Article 145

Where the appeal is, in whole or in part, clearly inadmissible or clearly unfounded, the General Court may at any time, acting on a report from the Judge — Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate General, by reasoned order dismiss the appeal in whole or in part.

Article 146

After the submission of pleadings as provided for in Article 141(1) and, if applicable, Article 143(1) and (2), the General Court, acting on a report from the Judge — Rapporteur and after hearing the Advocate General and the parties, may decide to rule on the appeal without an oral procedure unless one of the parties submits an application setting out the reasons for which he wishes to be heard. The application shall be submitted within a period of one month from notification to the party of the closure of the written procedure. That period may be extended by the President.

Article 147

The preliminary report referred to in Article 52 shall be presented to the General Court after the pleadings provided for in Article 141(1) and where appropriate Article 143(1) and (2) have been lodged. Where no such pleadings are lodged, the same procedure shall apply after the expiry of the period prescribed for lodging them.

Article 148

Where the appeal is unfounded or where the appeal is well founded and the General Court itself gives judgment in the case, the General Court shall make a decision as to costs.

Article 88 shall apply only to appeals brought by institutions;

By way of derogation from Article 87(2), the General Court may, in appeals brought by officials or other servants of an institution, decide to apportion the costs between the parties where equity so requires.

If the appeal is withdrawn Article 87(5) shall apply.

Article 149

An application to intervene made to the Court in appeal proceedings shall be lodged before the expiry of a period of one month running from the date of the publication of the notice referred to in Article 24(6).

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 150

The General Court may issue practice directions relating, in particular, to the preparations for and conduct of hearings before it and to the lodging of written pleadings or observations.

Article 151

These Rules, which are authentic in the languages mentioned in Article 35(1), shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. They shall enter into force on the first day of the second month from the date of their publication.

---

(1)  OJ L 136 of 30.5.1991 and OJ L 317 of 19.11.1991, p. 34 (corrigenda), with amendments dated 15 September 1994 (OJ L 249 of 24.9.1994, p. 17), 17 February 1995 (OJ L 44 of 28.2.1995, p. 64), 6 July 1995 (OJ L 172 of 22.7.1995, p. 3), 12 March 1997 (OJ L 103 of 19.4.1997, p. 6, and OJ L 351 of 23.12.1997, p. 72 (corrigenda), 17 May 1999 (OJ L 135 of 29.5.1999, p. 92), 6 December 2000 (OJ L 322 of 19.12.2000, p. 4), 21 May 2003 (OJ L 147 of 14.6.2003, p. 22), 19 April 2004 (OJ L 132 of 29.4.2004, p. 3), 21 April 2004 (OJ L 127 of 29.4.2004, p. 108), 12 October 2005 (OJ L 298 of 15.11.2005, p. 1), 18 December 2006 (OJ L 386 of 29.12.2006, p. 45), 12 June 2008 (OJ L 179 of 8.7.2008, p. 12), 14 January 2009 (OJ L 24 of 28.1.2009, p. 9), 16 February 2009 (OJ L 60 of 4.3.2009, p. 3), 7 July 2009 (OJ L 184 of 16.7.2009, p. 10) and 26 March 2010 (OJ L 92 of 13.4.2010, p. 14).

CONSOLIDATED VERSION OF THE

RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION CIVIL SERVICE TRIBUNAL

of 25 July 2007  (1)

PRELIMINARY PROVISION

Article 1

Interpretation

1.   In these Rules:

—	provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union are referred to by the number of the article concerned followed by ‘TFEU’;

—	provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community are referred to by the number of the article followed by ‘TEAEC’;

—	‘Statute’ means the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union;

—	‘Staff Regulations’ means the Regulation laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European Union.

2.   For the purposes of these Rules:

—	‘Tribunal’ means the European Union Civil Service Tribunal or, for cases dealt with by a Chamber or a single Judge, that Chamber or that Judge;

—	‘President of the Tribunal’ means the President of that court exclusively, ‘President’ meaning the president of the formation of the court;

—	‘institution’ or ‘institutions’ means the institutions of the Union and the bodies, offices and agencies established by the Treaties, or by an act adopted in implementation thereof, and which may be parties before the Tribunal.

TITLE 1

ORGANISATION OF THE TRIBUNAL

Chapter 1

PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE TRIBUNAL

Article 2

Judges' term of office

1.   The term of office of a Judge shall begin on the date laid down in his instrument of appointment.

2.   In the absence of any provision regarding the date, the term shall begin on the date of the instrument.

Article 3

Taking of the oath

1.   Before taking up his duties, a Judge shall take the following oath before the Court of Justice:

2.   Immediately after taking the oath, a Judge shall sign a declaration by which he solemnly undertakes that, both during and after his term of office, he will respect the obligations arising therefrom, and in particular the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after he has ceased to hold office, of certain appointments and benefits.

Article 4

Disqualification and removal of a Judge

1.   When the Court of Justice is called upon to decide, after consulting the Tribunal, whether a Judge no longer fulfils the requisite conditions or no longer meets the obligations arising from his office, the President of the Tribunal shall invite the Judge concerned to make representations to the Tribunal in closed session and in the absence of the Registrar.

2.   The Tribunal shall state the reasons for its opinion.

3.   An opinion to the effect that a Judge no longer fulfils the requisite conditions or no longer meets the obligations arising from his office must receive the votes of at least a majority of the Judges of the Tribunal. In that event, particulars of the voting shall be communicated to the Court of Justice.

4.   Voting shall be by secret ballot; the Judge concerned shall not take part in the deliberations.

Article 5

Precedence

1.   With the exception of the President of the Tribunal and of the Presidents of the Chambers, the Judges shall rank equally in precedence according to their seniority in office.

2.   Where there is equal seniority in office, precedence shall be determined by age.

3.   Retiring Judges who are reappointed shall retain their former precedence.

Article 6

Election of the President of the Tribunal

1.   In accordance with Article 4(1) of Annex I to the Statute, the Judges shall elect the President of the Tribunal from among their number for a term of three years. He may be re-elected.

2.   If the office of President of the Tribunal falls vacant before the usual date of expiry of his term, the Tribunal shall elect a successor for the remainder thereof.

3.   The elections provided for in this Article shall be by secret ballot. The Judge obtaining the votes of more than half the Judges composing the Tribunal shall be elected. If no Judge obtains that majority, further ballots shall be held until that majority is attained.

4.   The name of the President of the Tribunal shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 7

Responsibilities of the President of the Tribunal

1.   The President of the Tribunal shall direct the judicial business and the administration of the Tribunal.

2.   He shall preside at sittings and deliberations in closed session of:

—	the full court;

—	the Chamber sitting with five Judges;

—	any Chamber sitting with three Judges to which he is attached.

Article 8

Replacement of the President of the Tribunal

When the President of the Tribunal is absent or prevented from attending or when the office of President is vacant, the functions of President shall be exercised according to the order of precedence laid down pursuant to Article 5.

Chapter 2

FORMATIONS OF THE COURT

Article 9

Formations of the court

By virtue of Article 4(2) of Annex I to the Statute, the Tribunal shall sit in full court, in a Chamber of five Judges, Chambers of three Judges or as a single Judge.

Article 10

Constitution of Chambers

1.   The Tribunal shall set up Chambers sitting with three Judges. It may set up a Chamber sitting with five Judges.

2.   The Tribunal shall decide which Judges shall be attached to the Chambers. If the number of Judges attached to a Chamber is greater than the number of Judges sitting, it shall decide how to designate the Judges taking part in the formation of the court.

3.   Decisions taken in accordance with this article shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 11

Presidents of Chambers

1.   In accordance with Article 4(3) of Annex I to the Statute, the Judges shall elect from among their number for a term of three years the Presidents of the Chambers sitting with three Judges. The election shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6(3). They may be re-elected.

2.   Article 6(2) and (4) shall apply.

3.   The Presidents of Chambers shall direct the judicial business of their Chambers and shall preside at sittings and deliberations.

4.   When the President of a Chamber is absent or prevented from attending or when the office of President is vacant, the Chamber shall be presided over by a member thereof according to the order of precedence laid down pursuant to Article 5.

5.   If, exceptionally, the President of the Tribunal is called upon to complete the formation of the court, he shall preside.

Article 12

Ordinary formation of the court — Assignment of cases to Chambers

1.   Without prejudice to Article 13 or Article 14, the Tribunal shall sit in Chambers of three Judges.

2.   The Tribunal shall lay down criteria by which cases are to be assigned to the Chambers.

3.   The decision provided for in the previous paragraph shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 13

Referral of a case to the full court or to the Chamber sitting with five Judges

1.   Whenever the difficulty of the questions of law raised or the importance of the case or special circumstances so justify, a case may be referred to the full court or to the Chamber sitting with five Judges.

2.   The decision to refer shall be taken by the full court on a proposal by the Chamber hearing the case or by any member of the Tribunal. It may be taken at any stage of the proceedings.

Article 14

Referral of a case to a single Judge

1.   Cases assigned to a Chamber sitting with three Judges may be heard and determined by the Judge-Rapporteur sitting as a single Judge where, having regard to the lack of difficulty of the questions of law or fact raised, to the limited importance of the case and to the absence of other special circumstances, they are suitable for being so heard and determined.

Referral to a single Judge shall not be possible in cases which raise issues as to the legality of an act of general application.

2.   The decision to refer shall be taken unanimously, the parties having been heard, by the Chamber before which the case is pending. It may be taken at any stage of the proceedings.

3.   If the single Judge to whom the case has been referred is absent or prevented from attending, the President shall designate another Judge to replace that Judge.

4.   The single Judge shall refer the case back to the Chamber if he finds that the conditions set out in paragraph 1 above are no longer satisfied.

5.   In cases heard by a single Judge, the powers of the President shall be exercised by that Judge.

Chapter 3

REGISTRY AND DEPARTMENTS

Section 1 — The Registry

Article 15

Appointment of the Registrar

1.   The Tribunal shall appoint the Registrar.

2.   Two weeks before the date fixed for making the appointment, the President of the Tribunal shall inform the Judges of the applications which have been submitted for the post.

3.   The appointment shall be made in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6(3).

4.   The name of the Registrar elected shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

5.   The Registrar shall be appointed for a term of six years. He may be reappointed.

6.   Before he takes up his duties the Registrar shall take the oath before the Tribunal in accordance with Article 3.

Article 16

Vacancy of the office of Registrar

1.   The Registrar may be deprived of his office only if he no longer fulfils the requisite conditions or no longer meets the obligations arising from his office; the Tribunal shall take its decision after giving the Registrar an opportunity to make representations.

2.   If the office of Registrar falls vacant before the usual date of expiry of the term thereof, the Tribunal shall appoint a new Registrar for a term of six years.

Article 17

Assistant Registrar

The Tribunal may, following the procedure laid down in respect of the Registrar, appoint an Assistant Registrar to assist the Registrar and to take his place in so far as the Instructions to the Registrar referred to in Article 19(4) allow.

Article 18

Absence or inability to attend of the Registrar

Where the Registrar is absent or prevented from attending and, if necessary, where the Assistant Registrar is absent or so prevented, or where their posts are vacant, the President of the Tribunal shall designate an official or servant to carry out the duties of Registrar.

Article 19

Duties of the Registrar

1.   The Registrar shall assist the Tribunal, the President of the Tribunal and the Judges in the performance of their functions. He shall be responsible for the organisation and activities of the Registry under the authority of the President of the Tribunal.

2.   The Registrar shall have custody of the seals. He shall be responsible for the records and be in charge of the Tribunal's publications. The Registrar shall be responsible, under the authority of the President of the Tribunal, for the acceptance, transmission and custody of all documents and for effecting service as provided for by these Rules.

3.   Subject to Articles 4, 16(1) and 27, the Registrar shall attend the sittings of the Tribunal.

4.   The Tribunal shall adopt its Instructions to the Registrar, acting on a proposal from the President of the Tribunal. They shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 20

Keeping of the register

1.   There shall be kept in the Registry, under the control of the Registrar, a register in which all pleadings and supporting documents shall be entered.

2.   Rules for keeping the register shall be prescribed by the Instructions to the Registrar referred to in Article 19(4).

3.   Any person having a duly substantiated interest may consult the register at the Registry and obtain copies or extracts on payment of a charge on a scale fixed by the Tribunal on a proposal from the Registrar.

4.   Any party to proceedings may in addition obtain, on payment of the appropriate charge, additional copies of the pleadings or of the orders and judgments.

5.   No third party, private or public, may have access to the case-file or to the procedural documents without the express authorisation of the President, after the parties have been heard. That authorisation may be granted only upon written request accompanied by a detailed explanation of the third party's legitimate interest in inspecting the file.

Section 2 — The Departments

Article 21

Officials and other servants

1.   The officials and other servants whose task is to assist directly the President of the Tribunal, the Judges and the Registrar shall be appointed in accordance with the Staff Regulations. They shall be responsible to the Registrar, under the authority of the President of the Tribunal.

2.   Before the President of the Tribunal, in the presence of the Registrar, they shall take the following oath:

Article 22

Administration and financial management of the Tribunal

The Registrar shall be responsible, under the authority of the President of the Tribunal, for the administration, financial management and accounts of the Tribunal; he shall be assisted in this by the departments of the Court of Justice and the General Court.

Chapter 4

WORKING OF THE TRIBUNAL

Article 23

Dates, times and place of the sittings of the Tribunal

1.   The dates and times of the sittings of the Tribunal shall be fixed by the President.

2.   The Tribunal may choose to hold one or more particular sittings in a place other than that in which it has its seat.

Article 24

Quorum

Sittings of the Tribunal shall be valid only if the following quorum is observed:

—	five Judges for the full court;

—	three Judges for the Chamber sitting with five Judges or for the Chambers sitting with three Judges.

Article 25

Absence or inability to attend of a Judge

1.   If, because a Judge is absent or prevented from attending, the quorum is not attained, the President shall adjourn the sitting until the Judge is no longer absent or prevented from attending.

2.   In order to attain a quorum in a Chamber, the President may also, if the proper administration of justice so requires, complete the formation of the court with another Judge of the same Chamber or, failing that, propose that the President of the Tribunal should designate a Judge from another Chamber. The replacement Judge shall be designated by turn according to the order of precedence referred to in Article 5, with the exception, if possible, of the President of the Tribunal and of the Presidents of Chambers.

3.   If the formation of the court is completed pursuant to paragraph 2 after the hearing, the oral procedure shall be reopened.

Article 26

Absence or inability to attend, before the hearing, of a Judge of the Chamber sitting with five Judges

If, in the Chamber sitting with five Judges, a Judge is absent or prevented from attending before the hearing, the President of the Tribunal shall designate another Judge according to the order of precedence referred to in Article 5. If the number of five Judges cannot be restored, the hearing may nevertheless be held, provided that the quorum is attained.

Article 27

Deliberations

1.   The Tribunal shall deliberate in closed session.

2.   Only those Judges who were present at the hearing may take part in the deliberations.

3.   In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 17 of the Statute and the first paragraph of Article 5 of Annex I to the Statute, deliberations of the Tribunal shall be valid only if an uneven number of Judges is sitting in the deliberations.

If, in the Chamber sitting with five Judges or in the full court, there is an even number of Judges, as a result of a Judge's being absent or prevented from attending, the lowest-ranking Judge, according to the order of precedence fixed pursuant to Article 5, shall abstain from taking part in the deliberations, unless he is the Judge-Rapporteur. In that last case, it is the Judge immediately senior to him who shall abstain.

4.   Every Judge taking part in the deliberations shall state his opinion and the reasons for it.

Any Judge may require that any question be formulated in the language of his choice and communicated in writing to the other Judges before being put to the vote.

The conclusions reached by the majority of the Judges after final discussion shall determine the decision of the Tribunal. Votes shall be cast in reverse order to the order of precedence laid down pursuant to Article 5.

Differences of view on the substance, wording or order of questions, or on the interpretation of a vote, shall be settled by decision of the Tribunal.

5.   Where the deliberations of the Tribunal concern questions of its own administration, the Registrar shall be present, unless the Tribunal decides to the contrary.

6.   Where the Tribunal sits without the Registrar being present it shall, if necessary, instruct the lowest-ranking Judge, according to the order of precedence referred to in Article 5, to draw up minutes. The minutes shall be signed by this Judge and by the President.

Article 28

Judicial vacations

1.   Subject to any special decision of the Tribunal, its vacations shall be as follows:

—	from 18 December to 10 January,

—	from the Sunday before Easter to the second Sunday after Easter,

—	from 15 July to 15 September.

2.   During the vacations, the functions of President of the Tribunal shall be exercised at the place where the Tribunal has its seat either by the President of the Tribunal, keeping in touch with the Registrar, or by a President of Chamber or other Judge invited by the President to take his place.

In a case of urgency, the President may convene the Judges.

3.   The Tribunal shall observe the official holidays of the place where it has its seat.

4.   The Tribunal may, in proper circumstances, grant leave of absence to any Judge.

Chapter 5

LANGUAGES

Article 29

Language arrangements

By virtue of the sixth paragraph of Article 257 TFEU, Article 64 of the Statute and Article 7(2) of Annex I to the Statute, the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court governing language arrangements shall apply to the Tribunal.

Chapter 6

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES' REPRESENTATIVES

Article 30

Privileges, immunities and facilities

1.   The parties' representatives, appearing before the Tribunal or before any judicial authority to which it has addressed letters rogatory, shall enjoy immunity in respect of words spoken or written by them concerning the case or the parties.

2.   The parties' representatives shall enjoy the following further privileges and facilities:

(a)

papers and documents relating to the proceedings shall be exempt from both search and seizure; in the event of a dispute the customs officials or police may seal those papers and documents; they shall then be immediately forwarded to the Tribunal for inspection in the presence of the Registrar and of the person concerned;

(b)	the parties' representatives shall be entitled to such allocation of foreign currency as may be necessary for the performance of their duties;

(c)	the parties' representatives shall be entitled to travel in the course of duty without hindrance.

3.   The privileges, immunities and facilities specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 are granted exclusively in the interests of the proper conduct of proceedings.

4.   The Tribunal may waive the immunity where it considers that the proper conduct of proceedings will not be hindered thereby.

Article 31

Status of the parties' representatives

In order to qualify for the privileges, immunities and facilities specified in Article 30, persons entitled to them shall furnish proof of their status as follows:

(a)	agents shall produce an official document issued by the party for whom they act and shall forward without delay a copy thereof to the Registrar;

(b)	advisers and lawyers shall produce a certificate signed by the Registrar. The validity of this certificate shall be limited to a specified period, which may be extended or curtailed according to the length of the proceedings.

Article 32

Exclusion from the proceedings

1.   If the Tribunal considers that the conduct of a party's representative towards the Tribunal, the President, a Judge or the Registrar is incompatible with the dignity of the Tribunal or with the requirements of the proper administration of justice, or that such representative uses his rights for purposes other than those for which they were granted, it shall so inform the person concerned. The Tribunal may inform the competent authorities to whom the person concerned is answerable; a copy of the letter sent to those authorities shall be forwarded to the person concerned.

On the same grounds the Tribunal may at any time, having heard the person concerned, exclude that person from the proceedings by order. That order shall have immediate effect.

2.   Where a party's representative is excluded from the proceedings, the proceedings shall be suspended for a period fixed by the President in order to allow the party concerned to appoint another representative.

3.   Decisions taken under this Article may be rescinded.

TITLE 2

PROCEDURE

Chapter 1

WRITTEN PROCEDURE

Article 33

General provisions

1.   The written procedure shall comprise the lodging of the application and of the defence and, in the circumstances provided for in Article 41, the lodging of a reply and a rejoinder.

2.   The President shall fix the dates or time-limits by which the pleadings must be lodged.

Article 34

Lodging of pleadings

1.   The original of every pleading must be signed by the party's representative.

The original, accompanied by all annexes referred to therein, shall be lodged together with five copies for the Tribunal and a copy for every other party to the proceedings. Copies shall be certified by the party lodging them.

2.   Institutions shall in addition produce, within time-limits laid down by the Tribunal, translations of the pleadings of which they are the author into the other languages provided for by Article 1 of Council Regulation No 1. The second subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall apply.

3.   All pleadings shall bear a date. In the reckoning of time-limits for taking steps in proceedings only the date of lodging at the Registry shall be taken into account.

4.   To every pleading there shall be annexed a file containing the documents relied on in support of it, together with a schedule listing them.

5.   Where in view of the length of a document only extracts from it are annexed to the pleading, the whole document or a full copy of it shall be lodged at the Registry.

6.   Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 4, the date on which a copy of the signed original of a pleading, including the schedule of documents referred to in paragraph 4, is received at the Registry by any technical means of communication available to the Tribunal shall be deemed to be the date of lodging for the purposes of compliance with the time-limits for taking steps in proceedings, provided that the signed original of the pleading, accompanied by the annexes and copies referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, is lodged at the Registry no later than 10 days after the copy of the original was received. Article 100(3) shall not be applicable to this period of 10 days.

7.   Without prejudice to the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 or to paragraphs 2 to 4, the Tribunal may by decision determine the criteria for a procedural document sent to the Registry by electronic means to be deemed to be the original of that document. That decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 35

Application

1.   An application of the kind referred to in Article 21 of the Statute shall state:

(a)	the name and address of the applicant;

(b)	the description and address of the signatory;

(c)	the designation of the party against whom the application is made;

(d)	the subject-matter of the proceedings and the form of order sought by the applicant;

(e)	the pleas in law and the arguments of fact and law relied on;

(f)	where appropriate, the nature of any evidence offered in support.

2.   To the application there shall be annexed, where appropriate:

(a)	the act of which annulment is sought;

(b)	the complaint within the meaning of Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations and the decision responding to the complaint together with the dates on which the complaint was submitted and the decision notified.

3.   For the purposes of the proceedings, the application shall state:

—	an address for service in the place where the Tribunal has its seat and the name of the person authorised to accept service;

—	or any technical means of communication available to the Tribunal by which the applicant's representative agrees to accept service;

—	or else both the methods of transmission of service referred to above.

4.   If the application does not comply with the requirements referred to in paragraph 3, all service on the party concerned for the purposes of the proceedings shall be effected, for so long as the defect has not been cured, by registered letter addressed to that party's representative. By way of derogation from Article 99(1), service shall then be deemed to have been duly effected by the lodging of the registered letter at the post office of the place where the Tribunal has its seat.

5.   The applicant's lawyer must lodge at the Registry a certificate that he is authorised to practise before a court of a Member State or of another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

Article 36

Putting the application in order

If an application does not comply with the requirements set out in Article 35(1)(a), (b), (c), (2) or (5), the Registrar shall prescribe a reasonable period within which the applicant is to comply with them by putting the application in order. If the applicant fails to put the application in order within the time prescribed, the Tribunal shall decide whether the non-compliance with these conditions renders the application formally inadmissible.

Article 37

Service of the application and notice in the Official Journal

1.   The application shall be served on the defendant. In the cases provided for by Article 36, service shall be effected as soon as the application has been put in order or, failing that, as soon as the Tribunal has declared it admissible.

2.   Notice shall be given in the Official Journal of the European Union of the date on which the application was lodged, the parties, the subject-matter and description of the proceedings and the form of order sought by the applicant.

Article 38

First assignment of a case to a formation of the court

As soon as the application initiating proceedings has been lodged, the President of the Tribunal shall assign the case to one of the Chambers sitting with three Judges in accordance with the criteria set out in Article 12(2).

The President of that Chamber shall propose to the President of the Tribunal, in respect of each case assigned, the designation of a Judge to act as Rapporteur; the President of the Tribunal shall decide on the proposal.

Article 39

Defence

1.   Within two months after service of the application, the defendant shall lodge a defence stating:

(a)	the name and address of the defendant;

(b)	the description and address of the signatory;

(c)	the form of order sought by the defendant;

(d)	the pleas in law and the arguments of fact and law relied on;

(e)	where appropriate, the nature of any evidence offered in support.

The provisions of Article 35(3) and (4) shall apply.

The lawyer acting for the defendant must lodge at the Registry a certificate that he is authorised to practise before a court of a Member State or of another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

2.   The time-limit laid down in paragraph 1 may, in exceptional circumstances, be extended by the President on a reasoned application by the defendant.

Article 40

Forwarding pleadings to the Council and the European Commission

Where the Council or the European Commission is not a party to a case, the Tribunal shall send to it copies of the application and of the defence, without the annexes thereto, to enable it to assess whether the inapplicability of one of its acts is being invoked under Article 277 TFEU.

Article 41

Second exchange of pleadings

Pursuant to Article 7(3) of Annex I to the Statute, the Tribunal may decide, either of its own motion or on a reasoned application by the applicant, that a second exchange of written pleadings is necessary to supplement the documents before the Tribunal.

Article 42

Offers of further evidence

The parties may offer further evidence in support of their arguments until the end of the hearing, on condition that the delay in offering it is duly justified.

Article 43

New pleas in law

1.   No new plea in law may be introduced after the first exchange of pleadings unless it is based on matters of law or of fact which come to light in the course of the procedure.

2.   If in the course of the procedure one of the parties puts forward a new plea in law, the President may, even after the expiry of the normal procedural time-limits, acting on a report of the Judge-Rapporteur, allow the other party time to answer on that plea.

Consideration of the admissibility of the plea shall be reserved for the final decision.

Article 44

Documents — Confidentiality — Anonymity

1.   Subject to the provisions of Article 109(5), the Tribunal shall take into consideration only those documents which have been made available to the parties' representatives and on which they have been given an opportunity of expressing their views.

2.   Where it is necessary for the Tribunal to verify the confidentiality, in respect of one or more parties, of a document that may be relevant in order to rule in a case, that document shall not be communicated to the parties before such verification is completed. The Tribunal may by way of order request the production of such a document.

3.   Where a document to which access has been denied by an institution has been produced before the Tribunal in proceedings relating to the legality of that denial, that document shall not be communicated to the other parties.

4.   On a reasoned application by a party or of its own motion, the Tribunal may omit the name of the applicant or of other persons mentioned in connection with the proceedings, or certain information, from the publications relating to a case if there are legitimate reasons for keeping the identity of a person or the information confidential.

Article 45

Preliminary report

1.   After the final exchange of the parties' pleadings, the President shall fix a date on which the Judge-Rapporteur is to present his preliminary report to the Tribunal.

2.   The preliminary report shall contain recommendations as to whether measures of organisation of procedure or measures of inquiry should be undertaken, as to the possibility of an amicable settlement of the dispute and as to whether the case should be referred to the full court, to the Chamber sitting with five Judges or to the Judge-Rapporteur sitting as a single Judge.

3.   The Tribunal shall decide what action to take upon the recommendations of the Judge-Rapporteur.

Article 46

Connection — Joinder

1.   In the interests of the proper administration of justice, the President may, at any time, after hearing the parties, order that two or more cases shall, on account of the connection between them, be joined for the purposes of the written or oral procedure or of the final decision. The cases may subsequently be disjoined. The President may refer these matters to the Tribunal.

2.   Where cases assigned to different formations of the court are to be joined on account of the connection between them, the President of the Tribunal shall decide on their re-assignment.

3.   The representatives of the parties to the joined cases may examine at the Registry the pleadings served on the parties in the other cases concerned. The President may, however, on application by a party, without prejudice to Article 44(1) and (2), exclude secret or confidential documents from that examination.

Article 47

Order in which cases are to be dealt with

1.   The Tribunal shall deal with the cases before it in the order in which they become ready for examination.

2.   The President may in special circumstances direct that a particular case be given priority.

3.   The President may, after hearing the parties, in special circumstances, in particular with a view to facilitating an amicable settlement of the dispute, either on his own initiative or at the request of one of the parties, defer a case to be dealt with later.

Chapter 2

ORAL PROCEDURE

Article 48

Holding of hearings

1.   Without prejudice to the special provisions of these Rules permitting the Tribunal to adjudicate by way of order, and subject to paragraph 2, the procedure before the Tribunal shall include a hearing.

2.   Where there has been a second exchange of pleadings and the Tribunal considers that it is unnecessary to hold a hearing, it may, with the agreement of the parties, decide to proceed to judgment without a hearing.

Article 49

Date of the hearing

The President shall fix the date of the hearing.

Article 50

Absence of the parties from the hearing

The parties' representatives, duly invited to the hearing, shall be required to inform the Registry in good time if they do not wish to be present.

Where the representatives of all the parties have stated that they will not be present at the hearing, the Tribunal may decide that the oral procedure is closed.

Article 51

Conduct of the hearing

1.   The proceedings shall be opened and directed by the President, who shall be responsible for the proper conduct of the hearing.

2.   The oral proceedings in cases heard in camera shall not be published.

3.   A party may address the Tribunal only through his representative.

4.   The President and each of the Judges may in the course of the hearing:

(a)	put questions to the parties' representatives;

(b)	invite the parties themselves to express their views on certain aspects of the case.

Article 52

Close of the oral procedure

1.   The President shall declare the oral procedure closed at the end of the hearing.

2.   The Tribunal may order the reopening of the oral procedure.

Article 53

Minutes of the hearing

1.   The Registrar shall draw up minutes of every hearing. The minutes shall be signed by the President and by the Registrar and shall constitute an official record.

2.   The parties may inspect the minutes at the Registry and obtain copies at their own expense.

Chapter 3

MEASURES OF ORGANISATION OF PROCEDURE AND MEASURES OF INQUIRY

Article 54

General provisions

1.   The purpose of measures of organisation of procedure and measures of inquiry shall be to ensure that cases are prepared for hearing, procedures carried out and disputes resolved under the best possible conditions.

Those measures may be adopted or varied at any stage of the proceedings.

2.   Each party may, at any stage of the proceedings, propose the adoption or modification of measures of organisation of procedure or of inquiry. In that case, the other parties shall be heard before those measures are prescribed.

3.   Where the procedural circumstances so require, the Judge-Rapporteur or, where appropriate, the Tribunal shall inform the parties of the measures envisaged in order to give them an opportunity to submit their observations orally or in writing.

Section 1 — Measures of organisation of procedure

Article 55

Purpose and types

1.   Measures of organisation of procedure shall have as their purpose:

(a)	to ensure efficient conduct of the written and oral procedure and to facilitate the taking of evidence;

(b)	to determine the points on which the parties must present further argument or which would call for a measure of inquiry;

(c)	to clarify the forms of order sought by the parties, their pleas in law and arguments and the points at issue between them.

2.   Measures of organisation of procedure may, in particular, consist of:

(a)	putting questions to the parties;

(b)	inviting the parties to make written or oral submissions on certain aspects of the proceedings;

(c)	asking the parties for information or particulars;

(d)	asking the parties to produce documents or any papers relating to the case;

(e)	summoning the parties to meetings.

Article 56

Procedure

Without prejudice to Article 44(2), measures of organisation of procedure shall be prescribed by the Judge-Rapporteur unless he refers the matter to the Tribunal on account of the scope of the measures envisaged or of their importance to the disposal of the case. The Registrar shall be responsible for notifying them to the parties.

Section 2 — Measures of inquiry

Article 57

Types

Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 24 and 25 of the Statute, the following measures of inquiry may be adopted:

(a)	the appearance of the parties themselves;

(b)	asking third parties for information or particulars;

(c)	asking third parties to produce documents or any papers relating to the case;

(d)	oral testimony;

(e)	the commissioning of an expert's report;

(f)	an inspection of the place or thing in question.

Article 58

Procedure

1.   Measures of inquiry shall be prescribed by the Tribunal.

2.   The decision concerning the measures referred to in Article 57(d), (e) and (f) shall be taken by means of an order setting out the facts to be proved, after the parties have been heard.

The decision concerning the measures referred to in Article 57(a), (b) and (c) shall be notified to the parties by the Registrar.

3.   The parties may be present at the measures of inquiry.

4.   Where the Tribunal decides to adopt a measure of inquiry but does not undertake such a measure itself, it shall entrust the task of so doing to the Judge-Rapporteur.

5.   A party may always submit evidence in rebuttal or amplify previous evidence.

Section 3 — The summoning and examination of witnesses and experts

Article 59

Summoning of witnesses

1.   The Tribunal may, either of its own motion or on application by one of the parties, order that certain facts be proved by witnesses.

An application by a party for the examination of a witness shall state precisely about what facts and for what reasons the witness should be examined.

2.   A witness whose examination is considered necessary shall be summoned by the Tribunal by means of an order containing the following information:

(a)	the surname, forenames, description and residence of the witness;

(b)	the date and place of the hearing;

(c)	an indication of the facts about which the witness is to be examined;

(d)	where appropriate, particulars of the arrangements made by the Tribunal for reimbursement of expenses incurred by the witness, and of the sanctions which may be imposed on defaulting witnesses.

3.   The Tribunal may, in exceptional circumstances, make the summoning of a witness for whose examination a party has applied conditional upon the deposit with the cashier of the Tribunal of a sum sufficient to cover the taxed costs thereof; the Tribunal shall fix the amount of the payment.

The cashier of the Tribunal shall advance the funds necessary in connection with the examination of any witness summoned by the Tribunal of its own motion.

Article 60

Examination of witnesses

1.   After the identity of the witness has been established, the President shall inform him that he will be required to vouch the truth of his evidence in the manner laid down in paragraph 2 and in Article 63.

The witness shall give his evidence to the Tribunal, the parties having been given notice to attend. After the witness has given his main evidence the President and each of the Judges may, at the request of a party or of his own motion, put questions to him.

Subject to the control of the President, questions may be put to witnesses by the representatives of the parties.

2.   Subject to the provisions of Article 63, the witness shall, before giving his evidence, take the following oath:

The Tribunal may, after hearing the parties, exempt a witness from taking the oath.

3.   The Registrar shall draw up minutes in which the evidence of each witness is reproduced.

The minutes shall be signed by the President or by the Judge-Rapporteur responsible for conducting the examination of the witness, and by the Registrar. Before the minutes are thus signed, witnesses must be given an opportunity to check the content of the minutes and to sign them.

The minutes shall constitute an official record.

Article 61

Duties of witnesses

1.   Witnesses who have been duly summoned shall obey the summons and attend for examination.

2.   If a witness who has been duly summoned fails to appear before the Tribunal, the latter may impose upon him a pecuniary sanction not exceeding EUR 5 000 and may order that a further summons be served at the witness's own expense.

The same sanction may be imposed upon a witness who, without good reason, refuses to give evidence or to take the oath or where appropriate to make a solemn affirmation equivalent thereto.

3.   If the witness proffers a valid excuse to the Tribunal, the pecuniary sanction imposed on him may be cancelled. The pecuniary sanction imposed may be reduced at the request of the witness where he establishes that it is disproportionate to his income.

4.   Sanctions imposed and other measures ordered under this Article shall be enforced in accordance with Articles 280 TFEU and 299 TFEU and Article 164 TEAEC.

Article 62

Experts' reports

1.   The Tribunal may, either of its own motion or on application by one of the parties, order that an expert's report be obtained. The order appointing the expert shall define his task and set a time-limit within which he is to make his report.

2.   The expert shall receive a copy of the order, together with all the documents necessary for carrying out his task. He shall be under the supervision of the Judge-Rapporteur, who may be present during his investigation and who shall be kept informed of his progress in carrying out his task.

The Tribunal may request the parties or one of them to lodge security for the costs of the expert's report.

3.   At the request of the expert, the Tribunal may order the examination of witnesses. Their examination shall be carried out in accordance with Article 60.

4.   The expert may give his opinion only on points which have been expressly referred to him.

5.   After the expert has made his report, the Tribunal may order that he be examined, the parties having been given notice to attend.

Subject to the control of the President, questions may be put to the expert by the representatives of the parties.

6.   Subject to the provisions of Article 63, the expert shall, after making his report, take the following oath before the Tribunal:

The Tribunal may, after hearing the parties, exempt the expert from taking the oath.

Article 63

Oath

1.   The President shall instruct any person who is required to take an oath before the Tribunal, as witness or expert, to tell the truth or to carry out his task conscientiously and impartially, as the case may be, and shall warn him of the criminal liability provided for in his national law in the event of any breach of this duty.

2.   Witnesses and experts shall take the oath either in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 60(2) and the first subparagraph of Article 62(6) or in the manner laid down by their national law.

3.   Where the national law provides the opportunity to make, in judicial proceedings, a solemn affirmation equivalent to an oath as well as or instead of taking an oath, the witnesses and experts may make such an affirmation under the conditions and in the form prescribed in their national law.

Where their national law provides neither for taking an oath nor for making a solemn affirmation, the procedure described in the first paragraph shall be followed.

Article 64

Perjury

1.   The Tribunal may decide to report to the competent authority, referred to in Annex III to the Rules supplementing the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, of the Member State whose courts have criminal jurisdiction any case of perjury on the part of a witness or expert before the Tribunal, account being taken of the provisions of Article 63.

2.   The Registrar shall be responsible for communicating the decision of the Tribunal. The decision shall set out the facts and circumstances on which the report is based.

Article 65

Objection

1.   If one of the parties objects to a witness or to an expert on the ground that he is not a competent or proper person to act as witness or expert or for any other reason, or if a witness or expert refuses to give evidence, to take the oath or to make a solemn affirmation equivalent thereto, the Tribunal shall adjudicate by way of reasoned order.

2.   An objection to a witness or to an expert shall be raised within two weeks after service of the order summoning the witness or appointing the expert; the statement of objection must set out the grounds of objection and indicate the nature of any evidence offered.

Article 66

Reimbursement of expenses — Compensation or fees

1.   Witnesses and experts shall be entitled to reimbursement of their travel and subsistence expenses. The cashier of the Tribunal may make a payment to them towards these expenses in advance.

2.   Witnesses shall be entitled to compensation for loss of earnings, and experts to fees for their services. The cashier of the Tribunal shall pay witnesses and experts their compensation or fees after they have carried out their respective duties or tasks.

Article 67

Letters rogatory

1.   The Tribunal may, on application by a party or of its own motion, issue letters rogatory for the examination of witnesses or experts.

2.   Letters rogatory shall be issued in the form of an order which shall contain the name, forenames, description and address of the witness or expert, set out the facts on which the witness or expert is to be examined, name the parties, their representatives, indicate their addresses and briefly describe the subject-matter of the proceedings.

3.   The Registrar shall send the order to the competent authority named in Annex I to the Rules supplementing the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice of the Member State in whose territory the witness or expert is to be examined. Where necessary, the order shall be accompanied by a translation into the official language or languages of the Member State to which it is addressed.

The authority named pursuant to the first subparagraph shall pass on the order to the judicial authority which is competent according to its national law.

The competent judicial authority shall give effect to the letters rogatory in accordance with its national law. After implementation the competent judicial authority shall transmit to the authority named pursuant to the first subparagraph the order embodying the letters rogatory, any documents arising from the implementation and a detailed statement of costs. These documents shall be sent to the Registrar.

The Registrar shall be responsible for the translation of the documents into the language of the case.

4.   The Tribunal shall defray the expenses occasioned by the letters rogatory without prejudice to the right to charge them, where appropriate, to the parties.

Chapter 4

THE AMICABLE SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES

Article 68

Measures

1.   The Tribunal may, at all stages of the procedure, examine the possibilities of an amicable settlement of the dispute between the applicant and the defendant, propose one or more solutions capable of putting an end to the dispute and adopt appropriate measures with a view to facilitating such settlement.

It may, amongst other things:

—	ask the parties or third parties to supply information or particulars;

—	ask the parties or third parties to produce documents;

—	invite to meetings the parties' representatives, the parties themselves or any official or other servant of the institution empowered to negotiate an agreement.

2.   Paragraph 1 shall apply to proceedings for interim measures also.

3.   The Tribunal may instruct the Judge-Rapporteur, assisted by the Registrar, to seek the amicable settlement of a dispute or to implement the measures which it has adopted to that end.

Article 69

Agreement of the parties

1.   Where the applicant and the defendant come to an agreement before the Tribunal or the Judge-Rapporteur as to the solution putting an end to the dispute, the terms of that agreement may be recorded in minutes signed by the President or the Judge-Rapporteur and by the Registrar. The agreement as entered in the minutes shall constitute an official record.

The case shall be removed from the register by reasoned order of the President.

At the request of the applicant and defendant, the President shall set out the terms of the agreement in the order removing the case from the register.

2.   Where the applicant and the defendant notify the Tribunal that they have reached an agreement out of court as to the resolution of the dispute and state that they abandon all claims, the President shall order the case to be removed from the register.

3.   The President shall give a decision as to costs in accordance with the agreement or, failing that, at his discretion.

Article 70

Amicable settlement and contentious proceedings

No opinion expressed, suggestion made, proposal put forward, concession made or document drawn up for the purposes of the amicable settlement may be relied on as evidence by the Tribunal or the parties in the contentious proceedings.

Chapter 5

STAY OF PROCEEDINGS AND DECLINING OF JURISDICTION IN FAVOUR OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE AND THE GENERAL COURT

Article 71

Conditions and procedure for staying of proceedings

1.   Without prejudice to Articles 117(4), 118(4) and 119(4), proceedings may be stayed:

(a)	where the Tribunal and either the General Court or the Court of Justice are seised of cases in which the same issue of interpretation is raised or the validity of the same act is called in question, until the judgment of the General Court or the Court of Justice has been delivered;

(b)	where an appeal is brought before the General Court against a decision of the Tribunal disposing of the substantive issues in part only, disposing of a procedural issue concerning a plea of lack of competence or inadmissibility or dismissing an application to intervene;

(c)	at the joint request of the parties;

(d)	in other particular cases where the proper administration of justice so requires.

2.   The decision to stay the proceedings shall be made by reasoned order of the President after hearing the parties; the President may refer the matter to the Tribunal.

3.   Any decision ordering the resumption of proceedings before the end of the stay or as referred to in Article 72(2) shall be adopted in accordance with the same procedure.

Article 72

Duration and effects of a stay of proceedings

1.   The stay of proceedings shall take effect on the date indicated in the order of stay or, in the absence of such an indication, on the date of that order.

2.   Where the order of stay does not fix the length of the stay, it shall end on the date indicated in the order of resumption or, in the absence of such indication, on the date of the order of resumption.

3.   While proceedings are stayed time shall, except for the purposes of the time-limit prescribed in Article 109(1) for an application to intervene, cease to run for the purposes of procedural time-limits.

Time shall begin to run afresh from the beginning for the purposes of the time-limits from the date on which the stay of proceedings comes to an end.

Article 73

Declining of jurisdiction

1.   In accordance with Article 8(2) of Annex I to the Statute, where the Tribunal finds that the action before it falls within the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice or of the General Court, it shall refer that action to the Court of Justice or to the General Court.

2.   The Tribunal shall make its decision by way of reasoned order.

Chapter 6

DISCONTINUANCE, NO NEED TO ADJUDICATE AND PRELIMINARY ISSUES

Article 74

Discontinuance

If the applicant informs the Tribunal, in writing or at the hearing, that he wishes to discontinue the proceedings, the President shall order the case to be removed from the register and shall give a decision as to costs in accordance with Article 89(5).

Article 75

No need to adjudicate

If the Tribunal finds that an action has become devoid of purpose and that there is no longer any need to adjudicate on it, it may at any time, of its own motion, after hearing the parties, adopt a reasoned order.

Article 76

Action manifestly bound to fail

Where it is clear that the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to take cognisance of an action or of certain of the claims therein or where the action is, in whole or in part, manifestly inadmissible or manifestly lacking any foundation in law, the Tribunal may, without taking further steps in the proceedings, give a decision by way of reasoned order.

Article 77

Absolute bar to proceeding

The Tribunal may at any time, of its own motion, after hearing the parties, decide whether there exists any absolute bar to proceeding with an action. If the Tribunal considers that it possesses sufficient information, it may, without taking further steps in the proceedings, give a decision by way of reasoned order.

Article 78

Application for a decision not going to the substance of the case

1.   A party applying to the Tribunal for a decision on admissibility, on lack of competence or other preliminary plea not going to the substance of the case shall make the application by a separate document within a month of service of the application.

The application must contain the pleas of fact and law relied on and the form of order sought by the applicant; any supporting documents must be annexed to it.

2.   As soon as the application has been lodged, the President shall prescribe a period within which the opposite party may lodge a document containing the form of order sought and the arguments of fact and law relied on.

Unless the Tribunal otherwise decides, the remainder of the proceedings shall be oral.

3.   The Tribunal shall decide on the application by way of reasoned order or reserve its decision for the final judgment.

If the Tribunal refuses the application or reserves its decision, the President shall prescribe new time-limits for further steps in the proceedings.

4.   The Tribunal shall refer the case to the Court of Justice or to the General Court if the case falls within the jurisdiction of either of those Courts.

Chapter 7

JUDGMENTS AND ORDERS

Article 79

Judgments

A judgment shall contain:

—	the statement that it is the judgment of the Tribunal,

—	the date of its delivery,

—	the names of the President and the Judges taking part in it, with an indication as to the name of the Judge-Rapporteur,

—	the name of the Registrar,

—	the description of the parties,

—	the names of the parties' representatives,

—	a statement of the forms of order sought by the parties,

—	a summary of the facts,

—	the grounds for the decision,

—	the operative part of the judgment, including the decision as to costs.

Article 80

Delivery of judgment

1.   The judgment shall be delivered in open court. Due notice shall be given to the parties of the date of delivery.

2.   The original of the judgment, signed by the President, by the Judges who took part in the deliberations and by the Registrar, shall be sealed and deposited at the Registry; the Registrar shall ensure that each of the parties is served with a certified copy of the judgment.

3.   The Registrar shall record on the original of the judgment the date on which it was delivered.

Article 81

Orders

1.   Every order shall contain:

—	the statement that it is the order of the Tribunal, the President of the Tribunal or of the formation of the court,

—	the date of its adoption,

—	the names of the President and, where appropriate, the Judges taking part in its adoption, with an indication as to the name of the Judge-Rapporteur,

—	the name of the Registrar,

—	the description of the parties,

—	the names of the parties' representatives,

—	the operative part of the order, including, where appropriate, the decision as to costs.

2.   Where, in accordance with these Rules, an order must be reasoned, it shall in addition contain:

—	a statement of the forms of order sought by the parties,

—	a summary of the facts,

—	the grounds for the decision.

Article 82

Adoption of orders

The original of the order, signed by the President, shall be sealed and deposited at the Registry; the Registrar shall ensure that each of the parties is served with a certified copy of the order.

Article 83

Binding effect

1.   Subject to the provisions of Article 12(1) of Annex I to the Statute, judgments shall be binding from the date of their delivery.

2.   Orders shall be binding from the date of their service, save as otherwise provided in these Rules and in Article 12(1) of Annex I to the Statute.

Article 84

Rectification of decisions

1.   The Tribunal may, by way of order, of its own motion or on application by a party made within a month after the decision to be rectified has been served, after hearing the parties, rectify clerical mistakes, errors in calculation and obvious slips in it.

2.   The original of the rectification order shall be annexed to the original of the rectified decision. A note of this order shall be made in the margin of the original of the rectified decision.

Article 85

Omission of any decision as to costs

1.   If the Tribunal should omit to give a decision on costs, any party may within a month after service of the decision apply to the Tribunal to supplement its decision.

2.   The application shall be served on the opposite party and the President shall prescribe a period within which that party may present written observations.

3.   After these observations have been presented, the Tribunal shall decide at the same time on the admissibility and on the substance of the application.

Chapter 8

COSTS

Article 86

Decision as to costs

A decision as to costs shall be given in the final judgment or in the order which closes the proceedings.

Article 87

Allocation of costs — General rules

1.   Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Chapter, the unsuccessful party shall be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the successful party's pleadings.

2.   If equity so requires, the Tribunal may decide that an unsuccessful party is to pay only part of the costs or even that he is not to be ordered to pay any.

Article 88

Unreasonable or vexatious costs

A party, even if successful, may be ordered to pay some or all of the costs, if this appears justified by the conduct of that party, including before the proceedings were brought, especially if he has made the other party incur costs which are held to be unreasonable or vexatious.

Article 89

Allocation of costs — Special cases

1.   Where there are several unsuccessful parties the Tribunal shall decide how the costs are to be shared.

2.   Where each party succeeds on some and fails on other heads, the Tribunal may order that the costs be shared or that each party bear its own costs.

3.   If costs are not applied for, the parties shall bear their own costs.

4.   Interveners shall bear their own costs.

5.   A party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings shall be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the observations of the other party on the discontinuance. However, upon application by the party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings, the costs shall be borne by the other party if this appears justified by the conduct of that party.

6.   Where a case does not proceed to judgment, the costs shall be in the discretion of the Tribunal.

7.   Where the parties have come to an agreement on costs, the decision as to costs shall be in accordance with that agreement

Article 90

Costs of enforcing a judgment

Costs necessarily incurred by a party in enforcing a judgment or order of the Tribunal shall be refunded by the opposite party on the scale in force in the State where the enforcement takes place.

Article 91

Recoverable costs

Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 94, the following shall be regarded as recoverable costs:

(a)	sums payable to witnesses and experts under Article 66;

(b)	expenses incurred by the parties for the purpose of the proceedings, in particular the travel and subsistence expenses and the remuneration of the representative, if they are essential.

Article 92

Dispute as to costs

1.   If there is a dispute concerning the amount and nature of the costs to be recovered, the Tribunal shall, on application by the party concerned and after hearing the opposite party, give its decision by way of reasoned order.

In accordance with Article 11(2) of Annex I to the Statute, no appeal may lie from that order.

2.   The parties may, for the purposes of enforcement, apply for a copy of the order.

Article 93

Payment

1.   Sums due from the cashier of the Tribunal and from debtors of the Tribunal shall be paid in euro.

2.   Where expenses to be recovered have been incurred in a currency other than the euro or where the steps in respect of which payment is due were taken in a country of which the euro is not the currency, conversions of currency shall be made at the official rates of exchange of the European Central Bank on the day of payment.

Article 94

Court costs

Proceedings before the Tribunal shall be free of charge, except that:

(a)	where a party has caused the Tribunal to incur avoidable costs, in particular where the action is manifestly an abuse of process, the Tribunal may order that party to refund them in whole or in part, but the amount of that refund may not exceed EUR 2 000;

(b)	where copying or translation work is carried out at the request of a party, the cost shall, in so far as the Registrar considers it excessive, be paid for by that party on the scale of charges in force referred to in Article 20.

Chapter 9

LEGAL AID

Article 95

Substantive conditions

1.   In order to ensure effective access to justice, legal aid shall be granted for proceedings before the Tribunal in accordance with the following rules.

Legal aid shall cover, in whole or in part, the costs involved in legal assistance and representation by a lawyer in proceedings before the Tribunal. The cashier of the Tribunal shall be responsible for those costs.

2.   Any natural person who, because of his financial situation, is wholly or partly unable to meet the costs referred to in paragraph 1 shall be entitled to legal aid.

The financial situation shall be assessed, taking into account objective factors such as income, capital and the family situation.

3.   Legal aid shall be refused if the action in respect of which the application is made appears to be manifestly inadmissible or manifestly unfounded.

Article 96

Formal conditions

1.   An application for legal aid may be made before or after the action has been brought.

The application need not be made through a lawyer.

2.   The application for legal aid must be accompanied by all information and supporting documents making it possible to assess the applicant's financial situation, such as a certificate issued by the competent national authority attesting to his financial situation.

If the application is made before the action has been brought, the applicant must briefly state the subject-matter of the proposed action, the facts of the case and the arguments in support of the action. The application must be accompanied by supporting documents in that regard.

3.   The Tribunal may provide, in accordance with Article 120, for the compulsory use of a form in making an application for legal aid.

Article 97

Procedure

1.   Before giving its decision on an application for legal aid, the Tribunal shall invite the other party to submit its written observations unless it is already apparent from the information produced that the conditions laid down in Article 95(2) have not been satisfied or that those laid down in Article 95(3) have been satisfied.

2.   The decision on the application for legal aid shall be taken by way of an order by the President of the Tribunal or, if the case has already been assigned to a Chamber, by its President. He may refer the matter to the Tribunal.

An order refusing legal aid shall state the reasons on which it is based.

3.   In any order granting legal aid a lawyer shall be designated to represent the person concerned.

If the person has not indicated his choice of lawyer or if his choice is unacceptable, the Registrar shall send a copy of the order granting legal aid and a copy of the application to the competent authority of the Member State concerned mentioned in Annex II to the Rules supplementing the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice. The lawyer instructed to represent the applicant shall be designated having regard to the suggestions made by that authority.

An order granting legal aid may specify an amount to be paid to the lawyer instructed to represent the person concerned or fix a limit which the lawyer's disbursements and fees may not, in principle, exceed. It may provide for a contribution to be made by the person concerned to the costs referred to in Article 95(1), having regard to his financial situation.

4.   The introduction of an application for legal aid shall suspend the period prescribed for the bringing of the action until the date of notification of the order making a decision on that application or, in the cases referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 3, of the order designating the lawyer instructed to represent the applicant.

5.   If the circumstances which led to the grant of legal aid should alter during the proceedings, the President may at any time, on his own motion or on application, withdraw legal aid, having heard the person concerned. He may refer the matter to the Tribunal.

An order withdrawing legal aid shall contain a statement of reasons.

6.   No appeal shall lie from orders made under this article.

Article 98

Advances — Responsibility for costs

1.   Where legal aid is granted, the President may, on application by the lawyer of the person concerned, decide that an amount by way of advance should be paid to the lawyer.

2.   Where, by virtue of the decision closing the proceedings, the recipient of legal aid has to bear his own costs, the President shall fix the lawyer's disbursements and fees which are to be paid by the cashier of the Tribunal by way of a reasoned order from which no appeal shall lie. He may refer the matter to the Tribunal.

3.   Where, in the decision closing the proceedings, the Tribunal has ordered another party to pay the costs of the recipient of legal aid, that other party shall be required to refund to the cashier of the Tribunal any sums advanced by way of aid.

In the event of challenge or if the party does not comply with a demand by the Registrar to refund those sums, the President shall rule by way of reasoned order from which no appeal shall lie. The President may refer the matter to the Tribunal.

4.   Where the recipient of the aid is unsuccessful, the Tribunal may, in ruling as to costs in the decision closing the proceedings, if equity so requires, order that one or more parties should bear their own costs or that those costs should be borne, in whole or in part, by the cashier of the Tribunal by way of legal aid.

Chapter 10

SERVICE

Article 99

Service

1.   Where these Rules require a document to be served on a person, the Registrar shall ensure that service is effected:

—	where the addressee has an address for service in the place where the Tribunal has its seat, by the dispatch of a copy of the document by registered post with a form for acknowledgement of receipt or by personal delivery of the copy against a receipt, or

—	where, in accordance with Article 35(3) or the second subparagraph of Article 39(1), the addressee has agreed that service is to be effected on him by a technical means of communication available to the Tribunal, by such means.

The Registrar shall prepare and certify the copies of documents to be served, save where the parties themselves supply the copies in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 34(1).

2.   Where technical reasons connected with, in particular, the length of the document so require or where the document to be served is a judgment or an order, the document shall be served, if the addressee has failed to state an address for service, at his address in accordance with the procedures laid down in the first indent of paragraph 1. The addressee shall be so advised by telefax or other technical means of communication available to the Tribunal. Service shall then be deemed to have been effected on the addressee by registered post on the 10th day following the lodging of the registered letter at the post office of the place where the Tribunal has its seat, unless it is shown by the acknowledgement of receipt that the letter was received on a different date or the addressee informs the Registrar, within three weeks of being advised by telefax or another technical means of communication, that the document to be served has not reached him.

Chapter 11

TIME-LIMITS

Article 100

Reckoning of time-limits — Single period of extension on account of distance

1.   Any period of time prescribed by the Treaties, the Statute or these Rules for the taking of any procedural step shall be reckoned as follows:

(a)	Where a period expressed in days, weeks, months or years is to be calculated from the moment at which an event occurs or an action takes place, the day during which that event occurs or that action takes place shall not be counted as falling within the period in question;

(b)

A period expressed in weeks, months or years shall end with the expiry of whichever day in the last week, month or year is the same day of the week, or falls on the same date, as the day during which the event or action from which the period is to be calculated occurred or took place. If, in a period expressed in months or in years, the day on which it should expire does not occur in the last month, the period shall end with the expiry of the last day of that month;

(c)	Where a period is expressed in months and days, it shall first be reckoned in whole months, then in days;

(d)	Periods shall include official holidays, Sundays and Saturdays;

(e)	Periods shall not be suspended during the judicial vacations.

2.   If the period would otherwise end on a Saturday, Sunday or official holiday, it shall be extended until the end of the first following working day.

The list of official holidays drawn up by the Court of Justice and published in the Official Journal of the European Union shall apply to the Tribunal.

3.   The prescribed time-limits shall be extended on account of distance by a single period of 10 days.

Article 101

Extension — Delegation of power of signature

1.   Any time-limit prescribed pursuant to these Rules may be extended by whoever prescribed it.

2.   The President may delegate power of signature to the Registrar for the purpose of fixing certain time-limits which, pursuant to these Rules, it falls to the President to prescribe, or of extending such time-limits.

TITLE 3

SPECIAL FORMS OF PROCEDURE

Chapter 1

SUSPENSION OF OPERATION OR ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER INTERIM MEASURES

Article 102

Application for interim measures

1.   An application to suspend the operation of any measure adopted by an institution, made pursuant to Article 278 TFEU and Article 157 TEAEC, shall be admissible only if the applicant is challenging that measure in proceedings before the Tribunal.

An application for the adoption of any other interim measure referred to in Article 279 TFEU shall be admissible only if it is made by a party to a case before the Tribunal and relates to that case.

Those applications may be presented as soon as the complaint provided for in Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations has been submitted, in the conditions fixed in Article 91(4) of those Regulations.

2.   An application of a kind referred to in the previous paragraph shall state the subject-matter of the proceedings, the circumstances giving rise to urgency and the pleas of fact and law establishing a prima facie case for the interim measures applied for.

3.   The application shall be made by a separate document and in accordance with the provisions of Articles 34 and 35.

Article 103

Powers of the President of the Tribunal

1.   The President of the Tribunal shall decide the applications submitted pursuant to Article 102(1).

2.   If the President of the Tribunal is absent or prevented from dealing with any such application, he shall be replaced by another Judge in the conditions fixed by a decision adopted by the Tribunal and published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 104

Procedure

1.   The application shall be served on the opposite party, and the President of the Tribunal shall prescribe a short period within which that party may submit written or oral observations.

2.   The President of the Tribunal shall, where appropriate, prescribe measures of organisation of procedure and measures of inquiry.

3.   The President of the Tribunal may grant the application even before the observations of the opposite party have been submitted. This decision may subsequently be varied or cancelled, even of the President's own motion.

Article 105

Decision on interim measures

1.   The decision on the application shall take the form of a reasoned order.

2.   Enforcement of the order may be made conditional on the lodging by the applicant of security, of an amount and nature to be fixed in the light of the circumstances.

3.   Unless the order fixes the date on which the interim measure is to lapse, the measure shall lapse when final judgment is delivered.

4.   The order shall have only an interim effect, and shall be without prejudice to the decision on the substance of the case by the Tribunal.

Article 106

Change in circumstances

On application by a party, the order may at any time be varied or cancelled on account of a change in circumstances.

Article 107

Further application

Rejection of an application for an interim measure shall not bar the party who made it from making a further application on the basis of new facts.

Article 108

Suspension of enforcement

The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to applications to suspend the enforcement of an act of an institution, submitted pursuant to Articles 280 TFEU and 299 TFEU and Article 164 TEAEC.

The order granting the application shall fix, where appropriate, a date on which the interim measure is to lapse.

Chapter 2

INTERVENTION

Article 109

Application to intervene

1.   Any application to intervene must be made within four weeks of the date of publication of the notice referred to in Article 37(2).

2.   The application to intervene shall contain:

(a)	the description of the case;

(b)	the description of the parties;

(c)	the name and address of the intervener;

(d)	the intervener's address for service at the place where the Tribunal has its seat or an indication of the technical means of communication available to the Tribunal by which his representative agrees to accept service;

(e)	the form of order sought by the intervener, in support of or opposing the form of order sought by the applicant;

(f)	a statement of the circumstances establishing the right to intervene pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 40 of the Statute or on the basis of a specific provision.

3.   Articles 34 and 35 shall apply.

4.   The intervener shall be represented in accordance with Article 19 of the Statute.

5.   The application to intervene shall be served on the parties, so as to permit them an opportunity to submit their written or oral observations and to indicate to the Registry, where appropriate, those documents which they consider to be secret or confidential and which, in consequence, they do not wish to be communicated to the interveners.

6.   The President shall decide on the application to intervene by way of order or shall refer it to the Tribunal. The order must be reasoned if the application is dismissed.

Article 110

Conditions for intervention

1.   If an intervention is allowed, the President shall prescribe a period within which the intervener may submit a statement in intervention.

2.   The intervener shall receive a copy of all the pleadings served on the parties. The President may, however, on application by one of the parties, omit secret or confidential documents.

3.   The statement in intervention shall contain:

(a)	a statement of the form of order sought by the intervener;

(b)	the pleas in law and arguments relied on by the intervener;

(c)	where appropriate, the nature of any evidence offered.

4.   The statement in intervention is admissible only if it is made in support, in whole or in part, of the form of order sought by one of the parties.

5.   After the statement in intervention has been lodged, the President shall prescribe a time-limit within which the parties may reply in writing to that statement or shall invite them to present their replies during the oral procedure.

6.   For the purposes of these Rules, the intervener shall be treated as a party, save as otherwise provided.

Article 111

Invitation to intervene

1.   At any stage in the proceedings the President may, after hearing the parties, invite any person, any institution or any Member State concerned by the outcome of the dispute to inform the Tribunal if he or it wishes to intervene in the proceedings. The notice referred to in Article 37(2) shall be mentioned in the invitation.

2.   If the person, institution or Member State concerned informs the Tribunal within the period prescribed by the President that he or it wishes to intervene, the President shall inform the parties so as to permit them to indicate to the Registry, where appropriate, those documents which they consider to be secret or confidential and which, in consequence, they do not wish to be communicated to the person, institution or Member State concerned.

The provisions of Article 110(2) shall apply.

3.   The person, institution or Member State concerned shall present its statement in intervention within a month of the communication of the pleadings.

The provisions of Articles 34, 35, 109(2)(a) to (e) and (4) and 110(3) to (6) shall apply.

Chapter 3

APPEALS AND CASES REFERRED BACK AFTER DECISION SET ASIDE

Article 112

Conditions for appeals against decisions of the Tribunal

On the conditions laid down in Articles 9 to 12 of Annex I to the Statute, an appeal may be brought before the General Court against judgments or orders of the Tribunal.

Article 113

Referral back after setting aside — Assignment of the case referred back

1.   Where, after setting aside a judgment or order of the Tribunal, the General Court refers the case back to the Tribunal by virtue of Article 13 of Annex I to the Statute, the Tribunal shall be seised of the case by the judgment so referring it.

2.   The President of the Tribunal shall assign the case either to the formation of the court which gave the decision which has been set aside or to another formation of the court.

However, where the decision set aside was given by a single Judge, the President of the Tribunal shall assign the case to a Chamber sitting with three Judges of which that Judge is not a member.

Article 114

Procedure for examining cases referred back

1.   Within two months from the service upon him of the judgment of the General Court the applicant may lodge a statement of written observations.

2.   In the month following the communication to it of that statement, the defendant may lodge a statement of written observations. The time allowed to the defendant for lodging that statement may in no case be less than two months from the service upon it of the judgment of the General Court.

3.   In the month following the simultaneous communication to the intervener of the observations of the applicant and the defendant, the intervener may lodge a statement of written observations. The time allowed to the intervener for lodging it may in no case be less than two months from the service upon him or it of the judgment of the General Court.

4.   By way of derogation from Article 114(1) to (3), where the written procedure before the Tribunal had not been completed when the judgment referring the case back to the Tribunal was delivered, it shall be resumed, at the stage which it had reached, by means of measures of organisation of procedure adopted by the Tribunal.

5.   The Tribunal may, if the circumstances so justify, allow supplementary statements of written observations to be lodged.

6.   The procedure shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Title 2 of these Rules.

Article 115

Costs

The Tribunal shall decide on the costs relating to the proceedings instituted before it and to the proceedings on the appeal before the General Court.

Chapter 4

JUDGMENTS BY DEFAULT AND APPLICATIONS TO SET THEM ASIDE

Article 116

Procedure

1.   If a defendant on whom an application initiating proceedings has been duly served fails to lodge a defence to the application in the proper form within the time prescribed, the applicant may apply to the Tribunal for judgment by default.

The application shall be served on the defendant. The Tribunal may decide to open the oral procedure on the application.

2.   Before giving judgment by default the Tribunal shall consider whether the application initiating proceedings is admissible, whether the appropriate formalities have been complied with, and whether the application appears well founded. It may order a preparatory inquiry.

3.   A judgment by default shall be enforceable.

The Tribunal may, however, grant a stay of enforcement until it has given its decision on any application under paragraph 4 to set aside the judgment, or it may make enforcement subject to the provision of security of an amount and nature to be fixed in the light of the circumstances; this security shall be released if no such application is made or if the application fails.

4.   Application may be made to set aside a judgment by default.

The application to set aside the judgment must be made within one month from the date of service of the judgment.

It must be lodged in the form prescribed by Articles 34 and 35.

5.   After the application has been served, the President of the formation of the court shall prescribe a period within which the other party may submit his written observations.

The proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Title 2 of these Rules.

6.   The Tribunal shall decide by way of a judgment which may not be set aside. The original of this judgment shall be annexed to the original of the judgment by default. A note of the judgment on the application to set aside shall be made in the margin of the original of the judgment by default.

Chapter 5

EXCEPTIONAL REVIEW PROCEDURES

Article 117

Third-party proceedings

1.   In accordance with Article 42 of the Statute, third-party proceedings may be brought against a decision rendered without the third party's having been heard, where the decision is prejudicial to his rights.

If the contested decision has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, the application must be lodged within two months of the publication.

2.   Articles 34 and 35 shall apply to an application initiating third-party proceedings. In addition such an application shall:

(a)	specify the decision contested;

(b)	state how that decision is prejudicial to the rights of the third party;

(c)	indicate the reasons for which the third party was unable to take part in the original case before the Tribunal.

The application must be made against all the parties to the original case.

The application initiating third-party proceedings shall be assigned to the formation of the court which delivered the contested decision.

3.   The contested decision shall be varied on the points on which the submissions of the third party are upheld.

The original of the judgment in the third-party proceedings shall be annexed to the original of the contested decision. A note of the judgment in the third-party proceedings shall be made in the margin of the original of the contested decision.

4.   Where an appeal before the General Court and an application initiating third-party proceedings before the Tribunal contest the same decision of the Tribunal, the Tribunal may, after hearing the parties, stay the proceedings until the General Court has delivered its judgment.

5.   The Tribunal may, on application by the third party, order a stay of enforcement of the contested decision. The provisions of Title 3, Chapter 1, shall apply.

Article 118

Interpretation of decisions of the Tribunal

1.   In accordance with Article 43 of the Statute, if the meaning or scope of a decision is in doubt, the Tribunal may construe it on application by any party or any institution establishing an interest therein.

Applications for interpretation shall not be subject to any condition as to time-limits.

2.   Articles 34 and 35 shall apply to an application for interpretation. In addition such an application shall:

(a)	specify the decision in question;

(b)	indicate the passages of which interpretation is sought.

The application must be made against all the parties to the case in which the decision of which interpretation is sought was given.

The application for interpretation shall be assigned to the formation of the court which gave the decision which is the subject of the application.

3.   The Tribunal shall give its decision by way of judgment after having given the parties an opportunity to submit their observations.

The original of the interpreting judgment shall be annexed to the original of the decision interpreted. A note of the interpreting judgment shall be made in the margin of the original of the decision interpreted.

4.   Where an appeal before the General Court and an application for interpretation before the Tribunal concern the same decision of the Tribunal, the Tribunal may, after hearing the parties, stay the proceedings until the General Court has delivered its judgment.

Article 119

Revision

1.   In accordance with Article 44 of the Statute, an application for revision of a decision of the Tribunal may be made only on discovery of a fact which is of such a nature as to be a decisive factor and which, before the decision was delivered or adopted, was unknown to the Tribunal and to the party claiming the revision.

Without prejudice to the period of 10 years prescribed in the third paragraph of Article 44 of the Statute, an application for revision shall be made within three months of the date on which the facts on which the application is based came to the applicant's knowledge.

2.   Articles 34 and 35 shall apply to an application for revision. In addition such an application shall:

(a)	specify the decision contested;

(b)	indicate the points on which the decision is contested;

(c)	set out the facts on which the application is based;

(d)	indicate the nature of the evidence to show that there are facts justifying revision, and that the time-limits laid down in paragraph 1 of this article have been observed.

The application must be made against all the parties to the case in which the contested decision was given.

The application for revision shall be assigned to the formation of the court which gave the contested decision.

3.   The Tribunal shall give its decision by way of judgment on the admissibility of the application in the light of the parties' written observations.

If the Tribunal finds the application admissible, the remainder of the procedure shall be oral, unless the Tribunal otherwise decides. It shall give its decision by way of judgment.

The original of the revising judgment shall be annexed to the original of the decision revised. A note of the revising judgment shall be made in the margin of the original of the decision revised.

4.   Where an appeal before the General Court and an application for revision before the Tribunal concern the same decision of the Tribunal, the Tribunal may, after hearing the parties, stay the proceedings until the General Court has delivered its judgment.

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 120

The Tribunal's Practice Directions

The Tribunal may issue practice directions relating, in particular, to the preparations for and conduct of hearings before it, to the amicable settlement of disputes and to the presentation and lodging of pleadings and written observations.

Article 121

Publication of the Rules of Procedure

These Rules, which are authentic in the languages of the case mentioned in the Rules of Procedure of the General Court, shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. They shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following the date of their publication.

Article 122

Transitional provisions relating to costs

The provisions of Title 2, Chapter 8, on costs shall apply only to cases brought before the Tribunal from the date on which these Rules enter into force.

The relevant provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court on the subject shall continue to apply mutatis mutandis to cases pending before the Tribunal before that date.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRELIMINARY PROVISION

Article 1

Interpretation

TITLE 1

ORGANISATION OF THE TRIBUNAL

Chapter 1

PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE TRIBUNAL

Article 2

Judges' term of office

Article 3

Taking of the oath

Article 4

Disqualification and removal of a Judge

Article 5

Precedence

Article 6

Election of the President of the Tribunal

Article 7

Responsibilities of the President of the Tribunal

Article 8

Replacement of the President of the Tribunal

Chapter 2

FORMATIONS OF THE COURT

Article 9

Formations of the court

Article 10

Constitution of Chambers

Article 11

Presidents of Chambers

Article 12

Ordinary formation of the court — Assignment of cases to Chambers

Article 13

Referral of a case to the full court or to the Chamber sitting with five Judges

Article 14

Referral of a case to a single Judge

Chapter 3

REGISTRY AND DEPARTMENTS

Section 1 –

The Registry

Article 15

Appointment of the Registrar

Article 16

Vacancy of the office of Registrar

Article 17

Assistant Registrar

Article 18

Absence or inability to attend of the Registrar

Article 19

Duties of the Registrar

Article 20

Keeping of the register

Section 2 –

The Departments

Article 21

Officials and other servants

Article 22

Administration and financial management of the Tribunal

Chapter 4

WORKING OF THE TRIBUNAL

Article 23

Dates, times and place of the sittings of the Tribunal

Article 24

Quorum

Article 25

Absence or inability to attend of a Judge

Article 26

Absence or inability to attend, before the hearing, of a Judge of the Chamber sitting with five Judges

Article 27

Deliberations

Article 28

Judicial vacations

Chapter 5

LANGUAGES

Article 29

Language arrangements

Chapter 6

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES' REPRESENTATIVES

Article 30

Privileges, immunities and facilities

Article 31

Status of the parties' representatives

Article 32

Exclusion from the proceedings

TITLE 2

PROCEDURE

Chapter 1

WRITTEN PROCEDURE

Article 33

General provisions

Article 34

Lodging of pleadings

Article 35

Application

Article 36

Putting the application in order

Article 37

Service of the application and notice in the Official Journal

Article 38

First assignment of a case to a formation of the court

Article 39

Defence

Article 40

Forwarding pleadings to the Council and the European Commission

Article 41

Second exchange of pleadings

Article 42

Offers of further evidence

Article 43

New pleas in law

Article 44

Documents — Confidentiality — Anonymity

Article 45

Preliminary report

Article 46

Connection — Joinder

Article 47

Order in which cases are to be dealt with

Chapter 2

ORAL PROCEDURE

Article 48

Holding of hearings

Article 49

Date of the hearing

Article 50

Absence of the parties from the hearing

Article 51

Conduct of the hearing

Article 52

Close of the oral procedure

Article 53

Minutes of the hearing

Chapter 3

MEASURES OF ORGANISATION OF PROCEDURE AND MEASURES OF INQUIRY

Article 54

General provisions

Section 1 –

Measures of organisation of procedure

Article 55

Purpose and types

Article 56

Procedure

Section 2 –

Measures of inquiry

Article 57

Types

Article 58

Procedure

Section 3 –

The summoning and examination of witnesses and experts

Article 59

Summoning of witnesses

Article 60

Examination of witnesses

Article 61

Duties of witnesses

Article 62

Experts' reports

Article 63

Oath

Article 64

Perjury

Article 65

Objection

Article 66

Reimbursement of expenses — Compensation or fees

Article 67

Letters rogatory

Chapter 4

THE AMICABLE SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES

Article 68

Measures

Article 69

Agreement of the parties

Article 70

Amicable settlement and contentious proceedings

Chapter 5

STAY OF PROCEEDINGS AND DECLINING OF JURISDICTION IN FAVOUR OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE AND THE GENERAL COURT

Article 71

Conditions and procedure for staying of proceedings

Article 72

Duration and effects of a stay of proceedings

Article 73

Declining of jurisdiction

Chapter 6

DISCONTINUANCE, NO NEED TO ADJUDICATE AND PRELIMINARY ISSUES

Article 74

Discontinuance

Article 75

No need to adjudicate

Article 76

Action manifestly bound to fail

Article 77

Absolute bar to proceeding

Article 78

Application for a decision not going to the substance of the case

Chapter 7

JUDGMENTS AND ORDERS

Article 79

Judgments

Article 80

Delivery of judgment

Article 81

Orders

Article 82

Adoption of orders

Article 83

Binding effect

Article 84

Rectification of decisions

Article 85

Omission of any decision as to costs

Chapter 8

COSTS

Article 86

Decision as to costs

Article 87

Allocation of costs — General rules

Article 88

Unreasonable or vexatious costs

Article 89

Allocation of costs — Special cases

Article 90

Costs of enforcing a judgment

Article 91

Recoverable costs

Article 92

Dispute as to costs

Article 93

Payment

Article 94

Court costs

Chapter 9

LEGAL AID

Article 95

Substantive conditions

Article 96

Formal conditions

Article 97

Procedure

Article 98

Advances — Responsibility for costs

Chapter 10

SERVICE

Article 99

Service

Chapter 11

TIME-LIMITS

Article 100

Reckoning of time-limits — Single period of extension on account of distance

Article 101

Extension — Delegation of power of signature

TITLE 3

SPECIAL FORMS OF PROCEDURE

Chapter 1

SUSPENSION OF OPERATION OR ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER INTERIM MEASURES

Article 102

Application for interim measures

Article 103

Powers of the President of the Tribunal

Article 104

Procedure

Article 105

Decision on interim measures

Article 106

Change in circumstances

Article 107

Further application

Article 108

Suspension of enforcement

Chapter 2

INTERVENTION

Article 109

Application to intervene

Article 110

Conditions for intervention

Article 111

Invitation to intervene

Chapter 3

APPEALS AND CASES REFERRED BACK AFTER DECISION SET ASIDE

Article 112

Conditions for appeals against decisions of the Tribunal

Article 113

Referral back after setting aside — Assignment of the case referred back

Article 114

Procedure for examining cases referred back

Article 115

Costs

Chapter 4

JUDGMENTS BY DEFAULT AND APPLICATIONS TO SET THEM ASIDE

Article 116

Procedure

Chapter 5

EXCEPTIONAL REVIEW PROCEDURES

Article 117

Third-party proceedings

Article 118

Interpretation of decisions of the Tribunal

Article 119

Revision

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 120

The Tribunal's Practice Directions

Article 121

Publication of the Rules of Procedure

Article 122

Transitional provisions relating to costs

Table of Contents

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(1)  OJ L 225 of 29.8.2007, p. 1, with corrigendum OJ L 69 of 13.3.2008, p. 37, with amendments dated 14 January 2009 (OJ L 24 of 28.1.2009, p. 10) and 17 March 2010 (OJ L 92 of 13.4.2010, p. 17).