Issam Anbouba v Council of the European Union.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 62013CJ0605
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:2015:248
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Date: 21 April 2015
• Procedure Type: Recurso de casación - infundado
• Docket Number: C-605/13

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Grand Chamber)

21 April 2015 ( *1 )

‛Appeal — Common foreign and security policy — Restrictive measures against the Syrian Arab Republic — Measures directed against persons and entities benefiting from the regime — Proof that inclusion on the lists is well founded — Set of indicia’

In Case C‑605/13 P,

APPEAL under Article 56 of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, brought on 25 November 2013,

Issam Anbouba, residing in Homs (Syria), represented by M.-A. Bastin, J.-M. Salva, and S. Orlandi, avocats,

appellant,

the other parties to the proceedings being:

Council of the European Union, represented by A. Vitro, R. Liudvinaviciute and M.-M. Joséphidès, acting as Agents,

defendant at first instance,

supported by:

European Commission, represented by S. Pardo Quintillán and F. Castillo de la Torre, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg,

intervener in the appeal,

THE COURT (Grand Chamber),

composed of V. Skouris, President, K. Lenaerts, Vice-President, A. Tizzano, R. Silva de Lapuerta, C. Vajda and S. Rodin, Presidents of Chambers, A. Rosas (Rapporteur), E. Juhász, A. Borg Barthet, C. Toader, M. Safjan, D. Šváby and F. Biltgen, Judges,

Advocate General: Y. Bot,

Registrar: V. Tourrès, Administrator,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 18 November 2014,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 8 January 2015,

gives the following

Judgment

1 By his appeal, Mr Anbouba requests the Court to set aside the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 13 September 2013 in Anbouba v Council (T‑563/11, EU:T:2013:429; ‘the judgment under appeal’), by which the General Court dismissed his action for annulment of: — Council Decision 2011/522/CFSP of 2 September 2011 amending Decision 2011/273/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria (OJ 2011 L 228, p. 16); — Council Decision 2011/628/CFSP of 23 September 2011 amending Decision 2011/273/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria (OJ 2011 L 247, p. 17); — Council Decision 2011/782/CFSP of 1 December 2011 concerning restrictive measures against Syria and repealing Decision 2011/273/CFSP (OJ 2011 L 319, p. 56); — Council Regulation (EU) No 878/2011 of 2 September 2011 amending Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (OJ 2011 L 228, p. 1); and — Council Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 of 18 January 2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria and repealing Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 (OJ 2012 L 16, p. 1), in so far as his name appears on the lists of the persons to whom the restrictive measures decided upon under those acts (‘the acts at issue’) apply.

Background to the dispute

2 On 9 May 2011 the Council of the European Union adopted, on the basis of Article 29 TEU, Decision 2011/273/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria (OJ 2011 L 121, p. 11). As is apparent from recital 2 in the preamble to that decision, ‘[t]he Union strongly condemned the violent repression, including through the use of live ammunition, of peaceful protest in various locations across Syria resulting in the death of several demonstrators, wounded persons and arbitrary detentions’. Recital 3 in its preamble is worded as follows: ‘In view of the seriousness of the situation, restrictive measures should be imposed against [the Syrian Arab Republic] and against persons responsible for the violent repression against the civilian population in Syria.’

3 Article 3(1) of Decision 2011/273 provides that Member States are to take the necessary measures to prevent the entry into, or transit through, their territories of the persons responsible for the violent repression against the civilian population in Syria, and persons associated with them, as listed in the annex to that decision. Article 4(1) of the decision states that ‘[a]ll funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by persons responsible for the violent repression against the civilian population in Syria, and natural or legal persons … and entities associated with them, as listed in the Annex, shall be frozen’. The detailed rules governing their freezing are laid down in Article 4(2) to (6) of Decision 2011/273. Article 5(1) of that decision provides that the Council is to establish the list.

4 Council Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 of 9 May 2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (OJ 2011 L 121, p. 1) was adopted on the basis of Article 215 TFEU and Decision 2011/273. It provides in Article 4(1) for the freezing of ‘[a]ll funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by the natural or legal persons, entities and bodies listed in Annex II’.

5 In recital 2 in the preamble to Decision 2011/522, the Council recalled that the European Union had condemned in the strongest terms the brutal campaign that President Bashar Al-Assad and his regime were waging against their own people which had led to the killing or injury of many Syrian citizens. Given that the Syrian leadership had remained defiant with regard to calls from the European Union as well as from the broad international community, the European Union decided to adopt additional restrictive measures against the Syrian regime. Recital 4 is worded as follows: ‘The restrictions on admission and the freezing of funds and economic resources should be applied to additional persons and entities benefiting from or supporting the regime, in particular persons and entities financing the regime, or providing logistical support to the regime, in particular the security apparatus, or who undermine the efforts towards a peaceful transition to democracy in Syria.’

6 Article 3(1) of Decision 2011/273 as amended by Decision 2011/522 applies also to ‘persons benefiting from or supporting the regime’. Likewise, Article 4(1) of Decision 2011/273 as amended by Decision 2011/522 provides for the freezing of funds belonging to, amongst others, ‘persons and entities benefiting from or supporting the regime, and persons and entities associated with them, as listed in the Annex’.

7 By Decision 2011/522, Mr Anbouba’s name was added to the list in the Annex to Decision 2011/273. The grounds for his listing are as follows: ‘President of Issam Anbouba Est. for agro-industry [“SAPCO”]. Provides economic support for the Syrian regime.’

8 Regulation No 878/2011 also amended the general listing criteria laid down in Article 5(1) of Regulation No 442/2011, in order to cover, as stated in recital 2 in the preamble to Regulation No 878/2011, persons and entities who benefit from or support the regime. Mr Anbouba’s name was added by Regulation No 878/2011 to Annex II to Regulation No 442/2011. The grounds stated for his inclusion in the list set out in that annex are the same as those stated in the Annex to Decision 2011/522.

9 Decision 2011/628 and Council Regulation (EU) No 1011/2011 of 13 October 2011 amending Regulation No 442/2011 (OJ 2011 L 269, p. 18) retained Mr Anbouba’s name on the lists at issue and inserted information relating to his place and date of birth.

10 As a result of the adoption of new additional measures, Decision 2011/273 was repealed and replaced by Decision 2011/782, which retained Mr Anbouba’s name on the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures.

11 Regulation No 36/2012 repealed Regulation No 442/2011 and again placed Mr Anbouba’s name on the list of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures.

Proceedings before the General Court and judgment under appeal

12 Mr Anbouba’s application, as extended by subsequent claims, sought the annulment of the acts at issue.

13 Mr Anbouba also made an application for damages, but he withdrew it at the hearing before the General Court.

14 Since the Council failed to lodge a defence within the time prescribed, the judgment under appeal was delivered by default. Consequently, the General Court held that there was no longer any need to adjudicate on the application which the European Commission had made for leave to intervene in support of the form of order sought by the Council.

15 After putting forward six pleas in law in support of his action, Mr Anbouba retained only three of them, namely, the second plea, alleging infringement of the rules concerning proof and manifest errors of assessment relating to the grounds for his inclusion on the lists of persons subject to restrictive measures, the third plea, alleging infringement of the rights of the defence, and the fourth plea, alleging infringement of the obligation to state reasons.

16 When examining the second plea, the General Court first of all ruled on the burden of proof, in paragraphs 31 to 44 of the judgment under appeal.

17 Paragraphs 32 and 33 of the judgment under appeal read as follows: ‘32 It is clear from the preamble to Decision 2011/522 that, since the restrictive measures adopted in Decision 2011/273 had not been able to stop the repression by the Syrian regime against the civilian population, the Council considered that those measures should be applied to additional persons and entities benefiting from or supporting the regime, in particular those who financed the regime or provided logistical support to the regime, particularly the security apparatus, or who undermined the efforts to secure a peaceful transition to democracy. It is...