Judgment of the General Court Eighth Chamber, Extended Composition of 27 April 2022, Roos and Others v Parliament, T-710/21, T-722/21 and T-723/21

• Date: 27 April 2022
• Year: 2022

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the transferor, which was declared insolvent. Moreover, the transfer of the undertaking was carried

out during those insolvency proceedings.

The objective of the derogation from the obligation to safeguard employees’ rights is to eliminate the

serious risk of a deterioration of the value of the transferred undertaking or in the living and working

conditions of workers, whereas the objective of a pre-pack procedure followed by insolvency

proceedings is to secure the greatest possible reimbursement of all creditors and to safeguard

employment as far as possible. The Court adds that the aim of the use of a pre-pack procedure, for

the purposes of liquidating a company, is to increase the chances of satisfying the creditors’ claims.

Consequently, the pre-pack procedure and insolvency proceedings, taken together, may be regarded

as being aimed at the liquidation of the undertaking for the purposes of Article 5(1) of Directive

2001/23, provided that that pre-pack procedure is governed by statutory or regulatory provisions in

order to meet the requirement of legal certainty.

Secondly, the Court notes that the pre-pack procedure at issue in the main proceedings may be

regarded as having been carried out under the supervision of a competent public authority, as

required by Article 5 of Directive 2001/23, provided that that procedure is governed by statutory and

regulatory provisions. The ‘prospective insolvency administrator’ and the ‘prospective supervisory

judge’ are appointed by the competent court for the pre-pack procedure, which determines their

duties and reviews the exercise of those duties when the insolvency proceedings are subsequently

opened, in deciding whether or not to appoint the same persons as insolvency administrator and

supervisory judge.

Furthermore, the transfer prepared during the pre-pack procedure is not carried out until after the

opening of the insolvency proceedings, since the insolvency administrator and the supervisory judge

may refuse to carry out that transfer if they consider that it is contrary to the interests of the

transferor’s creditors. In addition, the ‘prospective insolvency administrator’ must not only account for

his or her management of the preparatory phase in the insolvency report, he or she may also be held

liable under the same conditions as the insolvency administrator.

VII. PUBLIC HEALTH

Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber, Extended Composition) of 27 April 2022,

Roos and Others v Parliament, T-710/21, T-722/21 and T-723/21

Public health – Requirement to present a valid EU digital COVID-19 certificate in order to access the

buildings of the Parliament – Legal basis – Freedom and independence of Members – Obligation to

ensure the health of staff in the service of the European Union – Parliamentary immunity – Processing of

personal data – Right to respect for private life – Right to physical integrity – Right to security – Equal

treatment – Proportionality

On 27 October 2021, the Bureau of the European Parliament introduced exceptional health and

safety rules for access to the Parliament’s buildings at its three places of work (Brussels, Strasbourg

and Luxembourg). In essence, that decision made access to those buildings conditional on

presentation of a digital COVID 19 vaccination, test or recovery certificate,

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or an equivalent

certificate,

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for an initial period until 31 January 2022. The applicants, who are all Members of the

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Regulation (EU) 2021/953 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2021 on a framework for the issuance, verification and

acceptance of interoperable COVID-19 vaccination, test and recovery certificates (EU Digital COVID Certificate) to facilitate free movement

during the COVID-19 pandemic (OJ 2021 L 211, p. 1).

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As provided for in Article 8 of Regulation 2021/953 (‘COVID-19 certificates and other documentation issued by a third country’).