Judgments nº T-341/07 of Court of First Instance of the European Communities, of September 30, 2009

In Case T-341/07,

Jose Maria Sison, residing in Utrecht (Netherlands), represented by J. Fermon, A. Comte, H. Schultz, D. Gürses and W. Kaleck, lawyers,

applicant,

v

Council of the European Union, represented by M. Bishop and E. Finnegan, acting as Agents,

defendant,

supported by

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by S. Behzadi Spencer and I. Rao, acting as Agents,

by

Kingdom of the Netherlands, represented by C. Wissels, M. de Mol, M. Noort and Y. de Vries, acting as Agents,

and by

Commission of the European Communities, represented by P. Aalto and S. Boelaert, acting as Agents,

interveners,

APPLICATION initially for, first, annulment in part of Council Decision 2007/445/EC of 28 June 2007 implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism and repealing Decisions 2006/379/EC and 2006/1008/EC (OJ 2007 L 169, p. 58) and, secondly, for compensation,

THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (Seventh Chamber),

composed of N.J. Forwood (Rapporteur), President, D. -váby and E. Moavero Milanesi, Judges,

Registrar: C. Kantza, Administrator,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 30 April 2009,

gives the following

Judgment

 Background to the case

1         For a summary of the early background to this case, reference is made to the judgment of the Court of First Instance of 11 July 2007 in Case T-47/03 Sison v Council, not published in the European Court Reports (-Sison-), in particular to paragraphs 46 to 70, describing the administrative and judicial proceedings relating to the applicant, Mr Jose Maria Sison, in the Netherlands which gave rise to the judgments of the Raad van State (Council of State, Netherlands) of 17 December 1992 (-the judgment of the Raad van State of 1992-) and of 21 February 1995 (-the judgment of the Raad van State of 1995-) and also to the decision of the Arrondissementsrechtbank te-s-Gravenhage (The Hague District Court, -the Rechtbank-), Sector Bestuursrecht, Rechtseenheidskamer Vreemdelingenzaken (Administrative Law Section, Chamber responsible for the uniform application of the law, cases involving aliens) of 11 September 1997 (-the decision of the Rechtbank-).

2         In Sison the Court of First Instance annulled Council Decision 2006/379/EC of 29 May 2006 implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism and repealing Decision 2005/930/EC (OJ 2006 L 144, p. 21), in so far as it concerned the applicant, on the grounds that no statement of reasons had been given for the decision, that it had been adopted in the course of a procedure during which the applicant-s rights of defence had not been observed and that the Court of First Instance itself was not in a position to undertake the judicial review of the lawfulness of that decision (see Sison, paragraph 226).

3         After the hearing in Sison, which was held on 30 May 2006, but before judgment was delivered, the Council of the European Union adopted Decision 2007/445/EC of 28 June 2007 implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation No 2580/2001 and repealing Decisions 2006/379/EC and 2006/1008/EC (OJ 2007 L 169, p. 58). By that decision, the Council maintained the applicant-s name in the list in the Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 of 27 December 2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism (OJ 2001 L 344, p. 70, corrigendum in OJ 2007 L 164, p. 36, -the list at issue-).

4         Before that decision was adopted, by letter of 23 April 2007 the Council informed the applicant that, in its view, the reasons for including him in the list at issue were still valid, and that it therefore intended to maintain him in that list. Enclosed with that letter was the Council-s statement of reasons. The applicant was also informed that he could submit observations to the Council on the latter-s intention to continue to maintain him in the list and on the reasons stated in that regard, and any supporting documents, within a period of one month.

5         In the statement of reasons enclosed with that letter, the Council noted the following:

-SISON, Jose Maria (alias Armando Liwanag, alias Joma, head of the Communist Party of the Philippines, including the NPA) born on 8.2.1939 in Cabugao, Philip...

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