Corte di giustizia UE/2006

[OSCURATO:PERSONA] [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 1 December 2006 ( * ) (Legal aid) [OSCURATO:PERSONA]101/06 AJ, APPLICATION for legal aid under [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 94 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] of the [OSCURATO:PERSONA], [OSCURATO:PERSONA], residing in Burgas (Bulgaria), applicant, v Commission of the [OSCURATO:PERSONA], defendant, [OSCURATO:PERSONA] makes the following [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 1       By application lodged at the Registry of the [OSCURATO:PERSONA] on 29 August 2006, [OSCURATO:PERSONA] applied for legal aid, pursuant to [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 94 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] of the [OSCURATO:PERSONA], applicable mutatis mutandis to the [OSCURATO:PERSONA] by virtue of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 3(4) of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 2004/752/EC, Euratom of 2 November 2004 establishing the [OSCURATO:PERSONA] (OJ 2004 L 333, p. 7) until the entry into force of the latter’s Rules of Procedure. 2       The applicant, who was a candidate in open competition [OSCURATO:PERSONA]/35/05 organised by the [OSCURATO:PERSONA], applied for legal aid in order to bring an action seeking, first, access to his examination papers, the answers to the pre-selection tests, and his ranking as a result of those tests, and, second, the award of ‘any money provided for by the law as just satisfaction’. 3       By letter of 18 September 2006, the [OSCURATO:PERSONA] requested the applicant to put his application for legal aid in order and set a final date for his response of 13 October 2006. In particular, the [OSCURATO:PERSONA] asked [OSCURATO:PERSONA] to provide all information and supporting documents making it possible to assess his economic situation, as well as a brief statement of the subject-matter of the proposed action, the facts of the case and the arguments in support of the action, together with all supporting documents in that regard. 4       The applicant failed to provide any additional documents within the time-limit that he had been set. 5       Pursuant to [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 94(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of [OSCURATO:PERSONA], the grant of legal aid is conditional on the applicant being, because of his or her economic situation, wholly or partly unable to meet the costs involved in legal assistance and representation by a lawyer in proceedings before the [OSCURATO:PERSONA]. 6       [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 94(3) of the Rules of Procedure provides that legal aid is to be refused if the action in respect of which the application is made appears to be manifestly inadmissible or manifestly unfounded. 7       [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 96(1) of the Rules of Procedure, before giving its decision on an application for legal aid, the [OSCURATO:PERSONA] is to invite the other party to submit its written observations, unless it is already apparent from the information produced that the conditions laid down in [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 94(2) have not been satisfied or that those laid down in [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 94(3) have been satisfied. 8       [OSCURATO:PERSONA] the first subparagraph of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 95(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of [OSCURATO:PERSONA], 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 or her economic situation. 9       The second subparagraph of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 95(2) of the Rules of Procedure provides that, if the application for legal aid 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 for legal aid must be accompanied by supporting documents in that regard. 10     In the present case, the [OSCURATO:PERSONA] finds, first, that the production of a copy of one of the applicant’s monthly salary slips does not make it possible for the [OSCURATO:PERSONA] to assess his economic situation. His application for legal aid does not, therefore, satisfy the conditions laid down in the first subparagraph of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 95(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of [OSCURATO:PERSONA]. 11     Second, the application for legal aid does not adequately set out either the facts of the case or the arguments in support of the action, and it is not accompanied by any supporting documents in that regard. It does not, therefore, satisfy the conditions laid down in the second subparagraph of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 95(2) of the Rules of Procedure. 12     None of the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] states expressly the consequences of a failure to comply with the conditions laid down in the first and second subparagraphs of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 95(2). 13     However, the [OSCURATO:PERSONA] considers that those provisions must be interpreted in their context and in particular in the light of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 94(2) and (3) and [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 96(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of [OSCURATO:PERSONA]. 14     An application for legal aid which does not satisfy the conditions laid down in the first or second subparagraphs of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 95(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] does not enable the [OSCURATO:PERSONA] to assess, first, whether the applicant is, because of his economic situation, wholly or partly unable to meet the costs involved in legal assistance and representation by a lawyer and, second, whether the proposed action appears to be manifestly inadmissible or manifestly unfounded. 15     In the [OSCURATO:PERSONA]’s view, it would be contrary to the sound administration of justice if an application for legal aid which does not satisfy the conditions laid down in [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 95(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] were dealt with more favourably than one which fulfilled those conditions but which, on the basis of the information that it contained, was dismissed under [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 94(2) or (3) of the Rules of Procedure. 16     In this connection reference may be made to [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 44(6) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of [OSCURATO:PERSONA], whereby the [OSCURATO:PERSONA] may decide, notably where the applicant has failed to put the originating application in order within the time prescribed, that non-compliance with certain conditions as to accompanying documents to be lodged renders the application formally inadmissible. 17     By analogy with the rule embodied in this provision, non-compliance with the conditions laid down in [OSCURATO:PERSONA] 95(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of [OSCURATO:PERSONA] must therefore be regarded as being capable of rendering the application for legal aid formally inadmissible. 18     It follows from all of the foregoing that, in the circumstances, this application for legal aid must be dismissed, without it being necessary to invite the other party to submit its written observations. On those grounds, [OSCURATO:PERSONA] hereby orders: The application for legal aid in [OSCURATO:PERSONA]101/06 AJ is dismissed. Luxembourg, 1 December 2006. W. Hakenberg P. [OSCURATO:PERSONA] * Language of the case: English.