Hassan and Ayadi (ECJ)

The Court of Justice annuls the Council regulation, as it stood before October 2009, freezing Mr Hassan and Mr Ayadi’s funds.

On the substance of the cases, the Court finds that, inasmuch as the grounds in law of the judgments under appeal are the same as those relied on in Yusuf and Kadi at first instance, which have been set aside by the Court, those judgments are marred by the same error in law and must, therefore, be set aside.

Next, the Court points out that the actual circumstances giving rise to the inclusion of Mr Hassan and Mr Ayadi’s names in the fund-freezing list are identical to those of Mr Kadi. The Court’s conclusion in Kadi on appeal, that the rights of defence – in particular, the right to be heard and the right to effective judicial review of observance of those rights – and the fundamental right to property had not been respected must, therefore, also be reached in these cases.

In those circumstances, the Court annuls the Council regulation in the version before the regulation of 2009 was adopted in so far as it freezes Mr Hassan and Mr Ayadi’s funds.

The Court has therefore set aside the judgments of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities of 12 July 2006 in Case T‑49/04 (Hassan v Council and Commission) and in Case T‑253/02 (Ayadi v Council).