A guide to the UPC and the UP - Flipbook - Page 174
an application to the Court for an order that access to their confidential information contained
in written pleadings or evidence be restricted to specific persons. 18
Right to be Heard
11-11 The right to be heard is a general principle of EU law recognised by the CJEU. The CJEU first
recognised the principle in Alvis, 19 and nowadays it is part of the Charter of Fundamental Rights
in the EU. 20 This includes the right of every person to be heard before any measure is taken
which would affect that person.
11-12 In the Court, the right to be heard is guaranteed by the written procedure, interim procedure
and oral hearing. Decisions on the merits may only be based on grounds, facts and evidence,
which were submitted by the parties or introduced into the procedure by an order of the Court
and on which the parties have had an opportunity to present their comments. 21
Within proceedings, the parties are on many occasions given an opportunity to be heard
before the Court makes an order or takes some action, in which case the Court shall or may
(depending on the specific rule) request the parties to provide written submissions within
a specified period and will invite the parties to an oral hearing on a date fixed by the Court.
The Court may also order that a hearing takes place by telephone or video conference to
enable access to the Court. 22
Impartial Tribunal
11-13 The Court shall evaluate evidence freely and independently. 23
Legal Certainty
11-14 The principle of fairness also provides that fairness is ensured by having regard to the
legitimate interests of all parties. This calls for the principle of legal certainty which again is
one of the general principles of EU law, recognised by the CJEU. The general idea behind the
principle is that the law must be certain, i.e. clear and precise, and its legal implications must
be foreseeable. The concept of legal certainty in EU law has various sub-concepts: predictability
and legitimate expectations of parties are regarded as the most important of these. 24 To that
end, the UPCA provides that decisions of the Court are decided in accordance with the requests
of the parties; the Court must not award more than is requested. 25
Case Management and Flexibility
11-15 The case management procedure aims to guarantee efficient proceedings. The Court will
actively manage the cases before it in accordance with the RoP without impairing the freedom
of the parties to determine the subject-matter of, and the supporting evidence for, their case. 26
According to the preamble to the RoP, parties should cooperate with the Court and set out
their full case as early as possible in the proceedings. 27
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22
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See r.262A RoP and also explanation in Chapter 12 (Written Procedure), paragraphs 12-47 to 12-49.
Maurice Alvis v Council of the European Economic Community (C-32/62) ECLI:EU:C:1963:15 [55].
art.41 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
art.76(2) UPCA.
r.264 RoP.
art.76(3) UPCA.
para.5 preamble to the RoP.
art.76(1) UPCA.
art.43 UCPA.
para.7 preamble to the RoP.
© Bird & Bird LLP | May 2023
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