Board

Can the Complaints Board refer a case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling (uniform interpretation of the fundamental principles and of the norms of EU law)?

Can I appeal against a decision delivered by the Complaints Board?

Are proceedings before the Complaints Board free of charge? What is meant by legal and other costs ?

What is the composition of the Complaints Board?

The Complaints Board is composed of seven members who are independent and are appointed from a list, compiled by the Court of Justice of the European Union, of persons whose independence is beyond doubt and who are recognised as being competent in law.

In the conditions determined by its Rules of Procedure, the Complaints Board may sit in plenary session or as a special panel composed of five members or in a section composed of three members or with a single judge each time in the presence of its registrar and/or its administrative assistant.

The Statute of the Complaints Board lays down the number of members, the procedure for their appointment, the length of their term of office and the emoluments to which they are entitled.

It is currently composed of:

Mr. Eduardo Menéndez Rexach, Chairman of the Complaints Board, Magistrate, Chairman of the Administrative Litigation Chamber of the Audiencia Nacional
Mr. Paul Rietjens, Honorary Director General (Legal Affairs) and former Legal Adviser for Belgian Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Pietro Manzini, Professor of European Union Law, University of Bologne
Mr. Aindrias O'Caoimh, former judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union
Ms. Brigitte Phémolant, Councillor of State, President of the inspection mission of administrative jurisdictions
Mr. Mark Ronayne, former Director of Human Resources and Personnel Administration of the Court of Justice of the European Union
Mr. Haris Tagaras, Member and Deputy President of the ESM Administrative Tribunal, former judge at Civil Service Tribunal.

It is assisted by :

Ms. Nathalie Peigneur, Registrar of the Complaints Board
Mr. Thomas van de Werve d’Immerseel, Administrative assistant of the Complaints Board

For each case, one of the members of the Complaints Board is designated as rapporteur.

What is the rapporteur's particular role?

For each case, one of the members of the Complaints Board is designated as rapporteur.
His or her task includes in particular assembling and considering the paperwork for written proceedings and presenting a summary report on it at the public hearing, or, alternatively, direct to the other members of the panel should the case not be heard at a public hearing.
He or she draws up the draft decision, in line with the positions adopted during the deliberations and finalises the decision of which the parties will receive notification.
Pursuant to Article 18 of the Rules of Procedure, the designated rapporteur may request the parties to produce certain documents or to answer questions by a deadline which he or she sets.
Moreover, the rapporteur may rule on a case as single judge in accordance with the terms laid down in Article 20a of the Rule of Procedure.

How can I contact the Complaints Board? Where does it sit?

The judges who are members of the Complaints Board come from different Member States, where, moreover, they hold other public offices. They convene regularly at the Complaints Board s seat, in Brussels, at administrative meetings or at public hearings, to consider collectively the cases which are submitted to them. Chapter IV of Statute of the Complaints Board lays down the arrangements for its operation.

The Registry of the Complaints Board is located in Brussels.

Outside of the public hearings, the Registry, in regular contact with the members of the Complaints Board and under its Chairman s responsibility, handles routine matters and the Complaints Board s day-to-day operation.

Contact details of the Registry of the Complaints Board

What are its powers and jurisdiction ?

Article 27.2 of the Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools states the following:
The Complaints Board shall have sole jurisdiction in the first and final instance, once all administrative channels have been exhausted, in any dispute concerning the application of this Convention to all persons covered by it with the exception of administrative and ancillary staff, and regarding the legality of any act based on the Convention or rules made under it, adversely affecting such persons on the part of the Board of Governors or the Administrative Board of a school in the exercise of their powers as specified by this Convention. When such disputes are of a financial character, the Complaints Board shall have unlimited jurisdiction. The conditions and the detailed rules relative to these proceedings shall be laid down, as appropriate, by the Service Regulations for the teaching staff or by the conditions of employment for part-time teachers, or by the General Rules of the Schools .
In addition, Article 27.7 states:
Other disputes to which the schools are party shall fall within national jurisdiction. In particular, national courts jurisdiction with regard to matters of civil and criminal liability is not affected by this article .

The contracting parties to the Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools did not wish to grant general jurisdiction to the Complaints Board.

It was thus given only the jurisdiction expressly conferred on it, which is strictly limited to the disputes mentioned by the Convention and to all the persons covered by it (with the exception of administrative and ancillary staff).

Its jurisdiction, strictly limited to those disputes, can only, moreover, be exercised under the conditions and in accordance with the procedures determined by the implementing texts to which the Convention refers, in particular:

the General Rules of the European Schools (Chapter XI Complaints and appeals procedures, Articles 66 and 67)
the Arrangements for implementing the Regulations for the European Baccalaureate (article 12)
the Regulations for Members of the Seconded Staff of the European Schools (Title VII Appeals, Articles 78-80)
the Conditions of Employment for Part-time/Locally recruited teachers of the European Schools

The Complaints Board s jurisdiction is, in principle, restricted to checking the legality of acts on the part of the organs of the European Schools: this means in particular that the Complaints Board can only, in principle, declare the disputed act to be void.

It only has unlimited jurisdiction (competence to declare decisions void but also power to amend the disputed act or to order other measures, such as payment of compensation) when disputes are of a financial character.

Finally, any dispute which does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Complaints Board falls within national jurisdiction, particularly as far as civil and criminal liability is concerned.

Who can submit an application to the Complaints Board?

a seconded teacher or a locally recruited teacher who teaches at one of the schools forming part of the European Schools network
a student (if he/she has reached the age of majority) or his/her legal representatives (if he/she is a minor) on roll in one of the schools forming part of the European Schools network
a member of the seconded staff performing administrative duties at one of the schools forming part of the European Schools network or at the Office of the Secretary-General.

Members of the administrative and ancillary staff may not lodge appeals with the Complaints Board; in their case, only national courts have jurisdiction.

What can it actually do in practice to help me? What result can I expect

The Complaints Board is able, amongst other things, to check the legality of:

a decision taken by the Central Enrolment Authority or by a Director on an enrolment or transfer application
a decision taken by a Class Council on promotion to the next teaching level or to the year above
a decision taken by a Discipline Council on either a pupil or a teacher
a decision taken by a European Baccalaureate Examining Board
a decision taken under the Educational Support programme
a decision on the recruitment terms of a teacher.

Within that framework, the Complaints Board can only, in principle, declare void a decision which it deems illegal. It cannot issue any orders to the organ which took the decision. The organ in question will, however, be required to abide by the Complaints Board s decision, something which is mandatory for it, and to take a new decision in line with the position adopted by the Complaints Board.

If, however, the dispute is of a financial character, particularly where teachers remuneration is concerned, the Complaints Board has unlimited jurisdiction, which means that it can not only declare the disputed act void but also amend it or order other measures, such as payment of compensation.

**What can it not do?**

The Complaints Board cannot:

issue an order to an organ of the European Schools to act in such and such a way or to adopt such and such a decision (except where the dispute is of a financial character)
refer a question to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling
call into question a judicial decision taken by a national court (hear a case on which a ruling has already been given or which is pending before a national court)
make a pedagogical appraisal of a pupil s abilities or a pupil s results achieved in the European Baccalaureate.

Can I lodge an appeal against an act of general application or a regulatory act?

The answer to this question is legally complex. Reference can be made to decision 10-02 Interparents (points 16-30), from which it can be noted that the Complaints Board recognises its competence to censure,principally, a decision of an organ of the Schools, in so far as neither the Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools, nor a norm adopted pursuant thereto explicitly confers competence on it, solely if, and only if, it directly affects a right or a prerogative granted by the Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools to a person or category of persons who or which is clearly identified and is distinguished from the other persons concerned, without its being certain that the said person or category is able to lodge an appeal against an individual decision taken on the basis of such a decision (general principle of the right to effective judicial protection).

Within what timeframe can I expect to receive a decision?

Important note: the submission of an application does not have suspensory effect. The decision against which the appeal has been lodged remains applicable throughout the contentious proceedings before the Complaints Board.
There is, however, the possibility of summary proceedings, which allow the Chairman or a member of the Complaints Board to give a ruling very quickly on an application for suspension of enforcement or other interim measures.

As far as school disputes are concerned (essentially decisions on enrolment or transfer applications and Class Councils decisions), the Complaints Board endeavours to deliver its decision before the beginning of the school year or on a date as close as possible to it.

For the more complex cases, which require the exchange (and, where necessary, the translation) of long written submissions and of numerous annexes, the Complaints Board endeavours to deliver its decision within a maximum period of six months of receipt of the appeal (translated where necessary).

How can I find out about decisions in cases similar to mine?

I consult the case law database.

Are there conciliation / mediation proceedings before the Complaints Board

No.

Can the Complaints Board refer a case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling (uniform interpretation of the fundamental principles and of the norms of EU law) ?

No. In its judgment of 14 June 2011, the CJEU considered that it is not competent to answer a question referred to it for a preliminary ruling by the Complaints Board of the European Schools (case C-196/09).

Can I appeal against a decision delivered by the Complaints Board?

No, the Complaints Board has sole jurisdiction in the first and final instance.
More details.

Are proceedings before the Complaints Board free of charge?
What is meant by legal and other costs ?

Lodging an application is free (no Registry charges) and all the costs including translation and interpretation costs if they are necessary are defrayed by the Registry.

But

Lawyers fees and costs are of course payable by the party which retains their services.
The unsuccessful party may be ordered to pay the legal and other costs of the case to the successful party, to the extent determined by the Complaints Board. The matter is settled by Article 27 of the Rules of Procedure.

The parties attention must be drawn to the practical consequences of these rules:

For the opposing party to be ordered to pay the legal costs of the case, an explicit request including figures to that effect must have been made (such an application is not granted automatically).
The Complaints Board adjudicates on the question of legal costs at the time of its decision and on the amount of the legal costs that may be payable.
The legal costs that the unsuccessful party is ordered to pay are payable to the other party (the successful pay) and not to the Complaints Board.
An order to pay the legal costs is possible even in the event of discontinuance of proceedings or dismissal of proceedings from the Register (Article 31 of the Rules of Procedure).

To understand all about legal and other costs (explanatory scheme)