21.8.2017

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 277/49

(Case T-399/17)

(2017/C 277/71)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: John Dalli (St. Julians, Malta) (represented by: L. Levi and S. Rodrigues, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

—order the compensation of the prejudice, notably the moral prejudice, estimated on a provisional basis at 1 000 000 euros;

—order to the defendant to bear the entire costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action for indemnification, the applicant relies on two pleas in law with regard to the claimed illegality.

1.First plea in law, alleging that the OLAF’s conduct was unlawful

—The OLAF’s unlawful conducts are, notably, the following ones: illegality of the decision to open the investigation; flaws in the characterization of the investigations and illegality of the extension of the scope of the investigation; violation of the principles for gathering evidence (including distortion and falsification of evidence), of the rights of defence and of various EU provisions (as Articles 339 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Articles 4, 8 and 11(7) of Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999, Article 4 of Commission Decision No 1999/396, Article 18 of the OLAF instructions, and Article 13(5) of the Supervisory Committee’s Rules) as well as of the violation of the principle of presumption of innocence and of the right to the protection of personal data.

2.Second plea in law, alleging the Commission’s conduct was unlawful

—The Commission’s unlawful conducts are the following ones: violation of the principle of sound and good administration and of the duty to behave in an objective, impartial and loyal manner and in the respect of the principle of independence, as well as the violation of the OLAF independence.