A trade association of small Spanish agricultural businesses, Unión de Pequeños Agricultores, brought an appeal against the order of 23 November 1999 of the Court of First Instance dismissing its application for partial annulment of a regulation on the common organisation of the market in oils and fats, including the olive oil markets. The Court of First Instance held that application to be manifestly inadmissible on the ground that the members of the association were not individually concerned by the provisions of the regulation at issue.

The Court of Justice has made it clear that the issue to be decided in this appeal is whether a person who is not individually concerned by the provisions of a regulation has standing to bring an action for annulment on the sole ground that the right to effective judicial protection requires it, given the alleged absence of any legal remedy before the national courts.

According to the EC Treaty, "[a]ny natural or legal person may ... institute proceedings against a decision addressed to that person or against a decision which, although in the form of a regulation or a decision addressed to another person, is of direct and individual concern to the former". It is settled case-law that individuals can therefore challenge a measure of general application only if that measure affects them by reason of certain attributes peculiar to them, or by reason of a factual situation which differentiates them from all other persons.

If that condition is not fulfilled, a natural or legal person does not have standing to bring an action for annulment of a regulation.

The Court of Justice has recalled, however, that the European Community is a community based on the rule of law in which its institutions are subject to judicial review of the compatibility of their acts with the Treaty and with the general principles of law which include fundamental rights. Accordingly, individuals are entitled to effective judicial protection of the rights they derive from the Community legal order, which is one of the general principles of law stemming from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States.

The Treaty has established a complete system of legal remedies and procedures designed to ensure judicial review of the legality of acts of the institutions, and that review is entrusted to the Community Courts.

Under that system, natural or legal persons who are prevented by the conditions for admissibility from directly challenging Community measures of general application can plead the invalidity of such acts:
-    either indirectly before the Community Courts in an action which challenges the Community measure adopted pursuant to the act at issue,

-    or before the national courts which, since they have no jurisdiction themselves to declare those measures invalid, can make a reference to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling on validity.

In respect of the latter case, it is for the Member States to establish a system of legal remedies and procedures which ensure respect for the right to effective judicial protection. In accordance with the principle of sincere cooperation laid down in the Treaty, national courts are required to interpret national procedural rules in a way that enables natural and legal persons to challenge before the courts the legality of a national measure adopted pursuant to a regulation and, thereby, to call in question the validity of that regulation.

The Court of Justice has not accepted that a direct action for annulment before the Community Courts will be available where it can be shown that national procedural rules do not allow an individual to bring proceedings to contest the validity of the Community measure at issue, because that would result in the Community Courts interpreting national procedural law. Furthermore, although the interpretation of the concept of "person individually concerned" requires, for reasons of effective judicial protection, that account be taken of the various circumstances that may distinguish an applicant individually, it cannot have the effect of abolishing that condition expressly laid down in the Treaty. In that case, the Community Courts would go beyond their jurisdiction.

Only the Member States, in accordance with the procedure for amending the Treaty, have the power to change the system of judicial review of the legality of Community measures of general application.

Unofficial document for media use only; not binding on the Court of Justice. Available in all languages. For the full text of the judgment, please consult our Internet page www.curia.eu.int  at approximately 3pm today. For further information please contact Reinier Van Winden: Tel: (00 352) 4303 3355; Fax: (00 352) 4303 2731 Pictures of the hearing are available on "Europe by Satellite" European Commission, Press and Information Service, L-2920 Luxembourg Tel: (00 352) 4301 35177; Fax: (00 352) 4301 35249, or B-1049 Brussels, Tel: (00 32) 2 2964106, Fax: (00 32) 2 2965956, or (00 32) 2 301280