CJEU - Joined Cases C-8/15 P to C-10/15 P / Judgment

Ledra Advertising Ltd and Others v. European Commission and European Central Bank (ECB)
Policy area
Economic and monetary affairs
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
Court (Grand Chamber)
Type
Decision
Decision date
20/09/2016
ECLI (European case law identifier)
ECLI:EU:C:2016:701
  • CJEU - Joined Cases C-8/15 P to C-10/15 P / Judgment

    Key facts of the case:

    Appeals — Stability support programme for the Republic of Cyprus — Memorandum of Understanding of 26 April 2013 on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality concluded between the Republic of Cyprus and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) — Duties of the European Commission and the European Central Bank — Non-contractual liability of the European Union — Second paragraph of Article 340 TFEU — Conditions — Obligation to ensure that the Memorandum of Understanding is consistent with EU law

    Outcome of the case:

    On those grounds, the Court (Grand Chamber) hereby:

    1. Sets aside the orders of the General Court of the European Union of 10 November 2014, Ledra Advertising v Commission and ECB (T‑289/13, EU:T:2014:981), of 10 November 2014, Eleftheriou and Papachristofi v Commission and ECB (T‑291/13, not published, EU:T:2014:978), and of 10 November 2014, Theophilou v Commission and ECB (T‑293/13, not published, EU:T:2014:979);
    2. Dismisses the actions brought before the General Court in Cases T‑289/13, T‑291/13 and T‑293/13;
    3. Orders Ledra Advertising Ltd, Andreas Eleftheriou, Eleni Eleftheriou, Lilia Papachristofi, Christos Theophilou, Eleni Theophilou, the European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) each to bear their own costs incurred both at first instance and on appeal.
  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

    47) Application of a bail-in such as that set out in the disputed paragraphs constitutes a flagrant breach of the right to property, contrary to Article 17(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’) and Article 1 of Protocol No 1 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950.

    ...

    66) In the present instance, the rule of law compliance with which the appellants criticise the Commission for not having ensured in the context of the adoption of the Memorandum of Understanding of 26 April 2013 is Article 17(1) of the Charter. That provision, which states that everyone has the right to own his or her lawfully acquired possessions, is a rule of law intended to confer rights on individuals.

    67) Furthermore, whilst the Member States do not implement EU law in the context of the ESM Treaty, so that the Charter is not addressed to them in that context (see, to that effect, judgment of 27 November 2012, Pringle, C‑370/12, EU:C:2012:756, paragraphs 178 to 181), on the other hand the Charter is addressed to the EU institutions, including, as the Advocate General has noted in point 85 of his Opinion, when they act outside the EU legal framework. Moreover, in the context of the adoption of a memorandum of understanding such as that of 26 April 2013, the Commission is bound, under both Article 17(1) TEU, which confers upon it the general task of overseeing the application of EU law, and Article 13(3) and (4) of the ESM Treaty, which requires it to ensure that the memoranda of understanding concluded by the ESM are consistent with EU law (see, to that effect, judgment of 27 November 2012, Pringle, C‑370/12, EU:C:2012:756, paragraphs 163 and 164), to ensure that such a memorandum of understanding is consistent with the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Charter.

    68) It should therefore be examined whether the Commission contributed to a sufficiently serious breach of the appellants’ right to property, within the meaning of Article 17(1) of the Charter, in the context of the adoption of the Memorandum of Understanding of 26 April 2013.

    69) It must be remembered that the right to property guaranteed by that provision of the Charter is not absolute and that its exercise may be subject to restrictions justified by objectives of general interest pursued by the European Union (see judgments of 16 November 2011, Bank Melli Iran v Council, C‑548/09 P, EU:C:2011:735, paragraph 113, and of 12 May 2016, Bank of Industry and Mine v Council, C‑358/15 P, EU:C:2016:338, paragraph 55).

    70) Consequently, as is apparent from Article 52(1) of the Charter, restrictions may be imposed on the exercise of the right to property, provided that the restrictions genuinely meet objectives of general interest and do not constitute, in relation to the aim pursued, a disproportionate and intolerable interference, impairing the very substance of the right guaranteed (see, to that effect, judgments of 16 November 2011, Bank Melli Iran v Council, C‑548/09 P, EU:C:2011:735, paragraph 114, and of 12 May 2016, Bank of Industry and Mine v Council, C‑358/15 P, EU:C:2016:338, paragraph 56).

    ...

    75) In the light of those factors, the Commission cannot be considered, by dint of having permitted the adoption of the disputed paragraphs, to have contributed to a breach of the appellants’ right to property guaranteed by Article 17(1) of the Charter.