EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 63/61

(Case T-797/22)

(2023/C 63/79)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicants: Ordre néerlandais des avocats du barreau de Bruxelles (Brussels, Belgium) and 10 other applicants (represented by: P. de Bandt, T. Ghysels, J. Nowak, T. Bontinck and A. Guillerme, lawyers)

Defendant: Council of the European Union

Form of order sought

The applicants claim that the Court should:

—annul Article 1(12) of Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1904 of 6 October 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine and Article 1(13) of Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2474 of 16 December 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine in so far as they replace and amend, respectively, paragraph 2 and paragraphs 4 to 12, and paragraph 2 and paragraphs 4 to 11 of Article 5n of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, as regards legal advisory services;

—order the Council to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicants rely on three pleas in law.

1.First plea in law, alleging infringement of the fundamental rights to protection of privacy and access to justice, provided for in Articles 7 and 47 respectively of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in that the general prohibition on the provision of legal advisory services constitutes interference with the right of every litigant to seek legal advice from his or her lawyer, and with the principle of professional secrecy and the principle of the independence of the lawyer.

2.Second plea in law, alleging breach of the principle of proportionality, in that the introduction of a general prohibition on the provision of legal advisory services is not suitable for achieving the legitimate objectives pursued by the European Union in the context of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and goes beyond what is strictly necessary to achieve those objectives.

3.Third plea in law, alleging breach of the principle of legal certainty, in that the general prohibition on the provision of legal advisory services introduced is neither clear nor precise and does not allow any foreseeability as to its application.