C-146/85

defendant,

APPLICATION for the suspension of the elections to the Staff Committee of the Economic and Social Committee due to take place on 14 June 1985,

THE PRESIDENT OF THE THIRD CHAMBER,

acting under Articles 9 (4) and 96 of the Rules of Procedure,

makes the following

* Language of the Case: French.

Facts The rules governing the composición and Committee to draw the attention of the procedure of the Staff Committee were laid President of the Election Board, who was down by Decision No 1896/75A of the appointed at the same general meeting of 19 Bureau of the Economic and Social April 1985, to the need for the elections to Committee of 28 July 1975. the Staff Committee for 1985 to 1987 to be held in conformity with the Rules of 4 The first paragraph of Article 5 of that March 1983. decision states as follows: 'The members of the Staff Committee shall be elected in By a letter dated 24 April 1985 the accordance with the conditions laid down President of the Economic and Social by the general meeting of officials of the Committee refused to accede to that request Economic and Social Committee, which on the ground that, although the Economic nust be held not later than one month and Social Committee had the power and before the expiry of the term of office of the the duty to oversee the preparation and outgoing Committee'. conduct the election of the staff represen- tatives, the decision sought by the applicant The electoral system and the conditions was ultra vires because it might influence the governing elections to the Staff Committee outcome of the elections. were laid down most recently in the Rules for Elections to the Staff Committee (herein- On 17 May 1985 the applicants brought an after referred to as 'the Rules') (Document action before the Court of Justice against CP 153/83 of 4 March 1983), which the Economic and Social Committee for the introduced a system of proportional rep- annulment of the decision of the President resentation known as 'Supar'. of the Economic and Social Committee of 24 April 1985, the Rules adopted at the Those Rules were amended at the general general staff meeting held on 19 April 1985 staff meeting held on 19 April 1985, which and all subsequent steps taken by way of introduced a different electoral system. implementation of those Rules. The term of office of the outgoing Staff By application lodged at the Court Registry Committee expired the following day, 20 on the same date, the applicants sought an April 1985. order suspending the elections to the Staff Committee of the Economic and Social On 22 April 1985, the fourth applicant, Committee which were due to take place Helmut Mullers, acting on behalf of his on 10 June 1985 and were subsequently trade union, requested the President of the postponed until 14 June 1985. Economic and Social Committee to declare that the amendment of the Rules was illegal In a document lodged at the Court Registry because the meeting which adopted it was on 29 May 1985, the Economic and Social held on the day before the expiry of the Committee submitted written observations outgoing Staff Committee's term of office, concerning the application for suspension. contrary to Article 5 of Decision No 1896/ The parties presented oral argument at the 75A, whereas it should have been held sitting on 6 June 1985. at least one month before that date. Consequently, the applicant requested the The Court heard the views of the Advocate President of the Economic and Social General, Sir Gordon Slynn.

2 By application lodged at the Court Registry on the same date, the applicants also requested the Court, pursuant to Article 83 et seq. of the Rules of Procedure:

(a) to suspend the elections to the Staff Committee of the Economic and Social Committee which were due to take place on 10 June 1985, and

(b) in the alternative, to order those elections to be held in conformity with the Rules adopted at the general staff meeting of 4 March 1983.

Admissibility

3 When considering an application for suspension of the operation of a measure or the adoption of any other interim measures which may be necessary, the judge charged with the task of adjudicating on an application for interim relief cannot prejudge the question whether the main application is admissible or well founded. However, an application for the adoption of interim measures is inadmissible if the

DIEZLER v ESC

7 The letter written by the fourth applicant, Mr Mullers, to the President of the Economic and Social Committee on 22 April 1985 must be regarded as a complaint against the Economic and Social Committee's failure to review the decision in question. Although the letter referred to the applicant's trade union, it may also be regarded as concerning him personally. Consequently, the conditions governing the admissibility of an application laid down by Article 91 (2) are prima facie satisfied by the applicant.

ORDER OF U. 6. 1985 — CASE 146/85 R

8 It follows that Mr Mullers' application for suspension is admissible and the substance of the case must therefore be examined without there being any need to consider whether the application is admissible in the case of the other applicants.

Substance

n In its observations, the Economic and Social Committee does not rule out the possibility that the decisions in question may be illegal but does not adopt a clearly-defined position on that issue.

i2 It must be noted that there are doubts as to whether this submission is well founded in view of the fact that, although the term of office of the outgoing Committee expired the day after 19 April 1985, the elections were not due to take place until one month later, which may be considered to be in conformity with the purpose of Article 5. However, since this submission does not appear to be

DIEZLER v ESC

manifestly unfounded, the requirement of a prima facie case must be regarded as satisfied, without there being any need to consider whether the other submissions relied upon by the applicants are well founded.

i3 With regard to the question of urgency, the applicants maintain that the electoral system established by decision of the general meeting held on 19 April 1985 would influence not only the outcome of the elections, as demonstrated at the hearing on 6 June 1985, but also the applicants' prospects of election. Moreover, the applicants maintain that if the elections are held in accordance with the new system introduced by the decision adopted on 19 April 1985 and if that decision is subsequently declared illegal by the Court, a series of subsequent measures will be rendered unlawful, without there being any possibility of fully remedying the serious and irreparable damage thereby caused except at the cost of provoking an irreversible series of disturbances.

is It is clear from the documents before the Court that underlying this dispute is a conflict at the general meeting between two groups of officials with regard to the electoral system to be applied, since the system adopted is capable of influencing the outcome of the election. In those circumstances, it seems preferable if the elections take place after the Court has examined, in connection with the main application, the question whether the decision of the general meeting held on 19 April 1985 is lawful, as judgment can be delivered with little delay in accordance with the wishes expressed at the hearing. As is clear from the arguments presented by both parties, if the elections at issue were to be held immediately, they would create a situation the consequences of which would be difficult to reverse should the Court decide that the main application is well founded. Moreover, the Economic and Social Committee is not opposed to the suspension of the elections. It is therefore appropriate to grant the suspension applied for.

ORDER OF 11. 6. 1985 — CASE 146/85 R

On those grounds,

THE PRESIDENT OF THE THIRD CHAMBER,

by way of interim decision,

hereby orders as follows: