Type: Opinions of the Advocate General

Authority: European Authorities: Euopean Union' Court of Justice

Date: 03/19/2013

Subject: The Advocate General sets out proposals concerning the judicial review which should be undertaken as regards acts of the EU implementing decisions of the Sanctions Committee. According to the Advocate General, the formal and procedural aspects of the contested act should be subject to review of external lawfulness. The EU judicature should undertake a rigorous review of whether such an act has been adopted under a procedure which respects the rights of the defence. It must ascertain whether the reasons for listing in a regulation, imposing certain specific restrictive measures, were communicated to the person concerned, whether those reasons are sufficient to enable him to defend himself properly, whether he was able to submit his comments to the Commission and whether the latter took them into consideration adequately. That high legal of protection in procedural matters will ensure that the protection of fundamental rights and the fight against terrorism are properly balanced. By contrast, the EU judicature must exercise a limited review of the merits of the statement of reasons, and simply ascertain that there was no manifest error. The assessment of the appropriateness of a listing is a matter for the Sanctions Committee. In the light of all of those matters, the Advocate General proposes that the Court should allow the appeal and set aside the judgment of the General Court which annulled the Commission’s new regulation maintaining the freezing of Mr Kadi’s funds.

Parties: Commissione, Consiglio, Regno Unito c. Kadi

Classification: Justice - Art. 47 Justice: remedy - Justice: effective - Fair trial, public hearing - Art. 48 Rights of defence

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