Mediocurso - Estabelecimento de Ensino Particular Ld.ª contra Comisión de las Comunidades Europeas.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 61998CJ0462
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:2000:480
• Date: 21 September 2000
• Docket Number: C-462/98
• Procedure Type: Recurso de casación - fundado
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)

Avis juridique important

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61998J0462

Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 21 September 2000. - Mediocurso - Estabelecimento de Ensino Particular Ld.ª v Commission of the European Communities. - Appeal - European Social Fund - Training programmes - Reduction of financial assistance - Rights of defence - Right to be heard. - Case C-462/98 P.

European Court reports 2000 Page I-07183

Summary
Parties
Grounds
Decision on costs
Operative part

Keywords

1. Appeals - Pleas in law - Admissibility - Points of law - Application by the Court of First Instance of the principles of the rights of the defence - Included

(EC Treaty, Art. 168a (now Art. 225 EC); EC Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 51)

2. Social policy - European Social Fund - Financial assistance for vocational training - Decision reducing assistance initially granted - Rights of defence of the undertakings concerned - Scope

Summary

1. The question whether the Court of First Instance correctly applied the principles governing the rights of defence and in particular the right to be heard constitutes a question of law which it falls to the Court of Justice to examine on appeal.

( see para. 35 )

2. Respect for the rights of defence is, in all proceedings initiated against a person which are liable to culminate in a measure adversely affecting that person, a fundamental principle of Community law which must be guaranteed even in the absence of any rules governing the proceedings in question. That principle requires that the addressees of decisions which significantly affect their interests should be placed in a position in which they may effectively make known their views.

In the absence of an invitation to an appellant by or on behalf of the Commission to submit its observations after a reasonable period on the documents recording the actions for which it was criticised and on the basis of which the Commission adopted its decisions reducing financial assistance from the European Social Fund, it must be concluded that the appellant was not placed in a position effectively to make known its views on the accusations made against it.

( see paras 36, 43 )

Parties

In Case C-462/98 P,

Mediocurso - Estabelecimento de Ensino Particular Ld.a, established in Lisbon (Portugal), represented by C. Botelho Moniz, of the Lisbon Bar, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of A. May, 398 Route d'Esch,

appellant,

APPEAL against the judgment of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (Third Chamber) in Joined Cases T-180/96 and T-181/96 Mediocurso v Commission [1998] ECR II-3477, seeking to have that judgment set aside,

the other party to the proceedings being:

Commission of the European Communities, represented by M.T. Figueira and K. Simonsson, of its Legal Service, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the office of C. Gómez de la Cruz, also of its Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg,

defendant at first instance,

THE COURT (Fifth Chamber),

composed of: D.A.O. Edward, President of the Chamber, L. Sevón, P. Jann, H. Ragnemalm (Rapporteur) and M. Wathelet, Judges,

Advocate General: J. Mischo,

Registrar: R. Grass,

having regard to the report of the Judge-Rapporteur,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 25 November 1999,

gives the following

Judgment

Grounds

1 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 17 December 1998, Mediocurso - Estabelecimento de Ensino Particular Ld.a (hereinafter Mediocurso) brought an appeal under Article 49 of the EC Statute of the Court of Justice against the judgment of the Court of First Instance of 15 September 1998 in Joined Cases T-180/96 and T-181/96 Mediocurso v Commission [1998] ECR II-3477, hereinafter the contested judgment, seeking to have that judgment partially set aside.

The facts

2 The facts of the case, as set out in the contested judgment and recorded in the documents considered by the Court of First Instance, may be summarised as follows.

3 In 1988, the Portuguese body Departamento para os Assuntos do Fundo Social Europeu (Department for European Social Fund matters, hereinafter DAFSE) lodged with the European Social Fund (hereinafter the ESF) two applications for financial assistance in favour of the appellant for two vocational training projects.

4 The training projects were approved by the Commission. In August 1989, the appellant received an advance equal to 50% of the amounts of assistance granted by the ESF and of that granted by the Portuguese Government.

5 The training programmes were carried out between July and December 1989. On completion thereof, the appellant applied to DAFSE for payment of the balance in respect of each of them.

6 However, by letter of 11 April 1990 DAFSE informed the appellant that it might amend the amount of the balance after carrying out financial checks regarding the implementation of the training programmes..

7 In October 1990, DAFSE provided the Commission with a certificate as to the accuracy of the facts and accounts in those final payment applications, although stating at the same time that the certification of the particulars contained in their applications was subject to a financial audit yet to be carried out. In January 1991 DAFSE informed the appellant that the auditing firm Audite...