Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions)

Legal background

'An official shall carry out his duties and conduct himself solely with the interests of the Communities in mind; he shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government, authority, organisation or person outside his institution.

An official shall not without the permission of the appointing authority accept from any government or from any other source outside the institution to which he belongs any honour, decoration, favour, gift or payment of any kind whatever, except for services rendered either before his appointment or during special leave for military or other national service and in respect of such service.

'An official shall abstain from any action and, in particular, any public expression of opinion which may reflect on his position.

...

An official wishing to engage in an outside activity, whether gainful or not, or to carry out any assignment outside the Communities must obtain permission from the appointing authority. Permission shall be refused if the activity or assignment is such as to impair the official's independence or to be detrimental to the work of the Communities.

'An official shall not, whether alone or together with others, publish or cause to be published without the permission of the appointing authority, any matter dealing with the work of the Communities. Permission shall be refused only where the proposed publication is liable to prejudice the interests of the Communities.

The facts giving rise to the dispute

'1 At the material time, the applicant, Mr Connolly, an official of the Commission in Grade A4, Step 4, was Head of Unit 3, EMS: National and Community Monetary Policies, in Directorate D, Monetary Affairs in the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG II) ... .

2 On three occasions, dating from 1991, Mr Connolly submitted draft articles relating, respectively, to the application of monetary theories, the development of the European Monetary System and the monetary implications of the whitepaper on the future of Europe. Permission to publish the articles, which, under the second paragraph of Article 17 of the Staff Regulations, must be obtained prior to publication, was refused.

3 On 24 April 1995, Mr Connolly applied, under Article 40 of the Staff Regulations, for three months' unpaid leave on personal grounds commencing on 3 July 1995, stating as the reasons for his application (a) to assist his son during the school holidays in his preparation for United Kingdom university entrance; (b) to enable his father to spend some time with his family; (c) to spend some time reflecting on matters of economic theory and policy and to reestablish acquaintance with the literature. The Commission granted him leave by decision of 2 June 1995.

4 By letter of 18 August 1995, Mr Connolly applied to be reinstated in the Commission service at the end of his leave on personal grounds. The Commission, by decision of 27 September 1995, granted that request and reinstated him in his post with effect from 4 October 1995.

5 Whilst on leave on personal grounds, Mr Connolly published a book entitled The Rotten Heart of Europe - The Dirty War for Europe's Money without requesting prior permission.

6 Early in September, more specifically between 4 and 10 September 1995, a series of articles concerning the book was published in the European and, in particular, the British press.

7 By letter of 6 September 1995, the Director-General for Personnel and Administration, in his capacity as appointing authority ... informed the applicant of his decision to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him for infringement of Articles 11, 12 and 17 of the Staff Regulations and, in accordance with Article 87 of those regulations, invited him to a preliminary hearing.

8 The first hearing was held on 12 September 1995. The applicant then submitted a written statement indicating that he would not answer any questions unless he was informed in advance of the specific breaches he was alleged to have committed.

9 By letter of 13 September 1995, the appointing authority informed the applicant that the allegations of misconduct followed publication of his book, serialisation of extracts from it in The Times newspaper as well as the statements that he had made in an interview published in that newspaper, without having obtained prior permission. The appointing authority again invited him to attend a hearing regarding those matters in the light of his obligations under Articles 11, 12 and 17 of the Staff Regulations.

10 On 26 September 1995, at a second hearing, the applicant refused to answer any of the questions put to him and filed a written statement in which he submitted that it was legitimate for him to have published a work without requesting prior permission because, when he did so, he was on unpaid leave on personal grounds. He added that the serialisation of extracts from his book in the press had been decided on by his publisher and that some of the statements contained in the interview had been wrongly attributed to him. Finally, Mr Connolly expressed doubts as to the objectivity of the disciplinary proceedings commenced against him in view, notably, of statements made about him to the press by the Commission's President and its spokesperson, and as to whether the confidential nature of the proceedings was being respected.

11 On 27 September 1995, the appointing authority decided, pursuant to Article 88 of the Staff Regulations, to suspend Mr Connolly from his duties with effect from 3 October 1995 and to withhold one-half of his basic salary during the period of his suspension.

12 On 4 October 1995, the appointing authority decided to refer the matter to the Disciplinary Board under Article 1 of Annex IX to the Staff Regulations ('Annex IX).

...

16 On 7 December 1995, the Disciplinary Board delivered an opinion, forwarded to the applicant on 15 December 1995, in which it recommended that the disciplinary measure of removal from post without withdrawal or reduction of his entitlement to a retirement pension should be imposed on him ... .

17 On 9 January 1996, the applicant was heard by the appointing authority pursuant to the third paragraph of Article 7 of Annex IX.

18 By decision of 16 January 1996, the appointing authority imposed on the applicant the disciplinary measure referred to in Article 86(2)(f) of the Staff Regulations, namely removal from post without withdrawal or reduction of his entitlement to a retirement pension. ...

19 The decision removing Mr Connolly from his post set out the following statement of reasons:

Whereas on 16 May 1990 Mr Connolly was appointed Head of Unit [II.D.3];

Whereas by virtue of his duties Mr Connolly has been responsible for, inter alia, preparing and taking part in the work of the Monetary Committee, the Monetary Policy Sub-Committee and the Committee of [Governors],monitoring monetary policies in the Member States and analysing the monetary implications of the implementation of European economic and monetary union;

Whereas Mr Connolly has written a book, which was published at the beginning of September 1995 entitled The Rotten Heart of Europe;

Whereas that book deals with the development in recent years of the process of European integration in the economic and monetary field and has been written by Mr Connolly on the basis of the professional experience he has gained while carrying out his duties at the Commission;

Whereas Mr Connolly has not requested permission from the appointing authority to publish the book in question in accordance with Article 17 of the Staff Regulations, which is binding on all officials;

Whereas Mr Connolly could not have failed to be aware that he would be refused permission on the same grounds as those on which permission had previously been refused in respect of articles in which he had already outlined the ideas that form the core of the present book;

Whereas Mr Connolly mentions in the preface to The Rotten Heart of Europe that the idea for the book arose after he had requested permission to publish a chapter on the EMS in another book; he was refused permission and took the view that it would be worthwhile to work up that chapter and make it into a book in its own right;

Whereas Mr Connolly has approved, and has played an active part in, the promotion of his book, notably granting an interview to The Times newspaper on 4 September 1995, on which date The Times also published extracts from his book, and writing an article for The Times, which was published on 6 September 1995;

Whereas Mr Connolly could not have failed to be aware that the publication of his book reflected a personal opinion that conflicted with the policy adopted by the Commission in its capacity as an institution of the European Union responsible for pursuing a major objective and a fundamental policy choice laid down in the Treaty on European Union, namely economic and monetary union;

Whereas by his conduct Mr Connolly has seriously prejudiced the interests of the Communities and has damaged the image and reputation of the institution;

Whereas Mr Connolly has admitted receiving royalties paid to him by his publishers as consideration for the publication of his book;

Whereas Mr Connolly's overall conduct has reflected on his position as an official, given that an official is required to conduct himself solely with the interests of the Commission in mind;

Whereas, having frequently been refused permission to publish, a reasonably diligent official of his seniority and with his responsibilities could not have been unaware of the nature and gravity of such breaches of his obligations;

Whereas, in disregard of his duties of good faith and loyalty to the institution, Mr Connolly at no time advised his superiors of his intention to publish the book in question even though he was still bound, as an official on leave on personal grounds, by his duty of confidentiality;

Whereas Mr Connolly's conduct, on account of its gravity, involves an irremediable breach of the trust which the Commission is entitled to expect from its officials, and, as a consequence, makes it impossible for any employment relationship to be maintained with the institution;

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20 By letter of 7 March 1996, received at the Secretariat-General of the Commission on 14 March 1996, the applicant submitted a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations against the Disciplinary Board's opinion and against the decision to remove him from his post.

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21 By an application lodged at the Registry of the Court of First Instance on 13 March 1996, the applicant brought an action for annulment of the Disciplinary Board's opinion (Case T-34/96).

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23 On 18 July 1996 the applicant was informed of the decision expressly dismissing his complaint against the Disciplinary Board's opinion and the decision removing him from his post.

24 By an application lodged at the Registry of the Court of First Instance on 18 October 1996, the applicant brought an action for annulment of the Disciplinary Board's opinion and of the decision removing him from his post and for damages (Case T-163/96).

...

30 At the hearing, it was formally recorded that the claims and the pleas in law relied on in Case T-34/96 were repeated in their entirety in Case T-163/96 and that, consequently, the applicant was discontinuing the proceedings in Case T-34/96.

The contested judgment

The first plea in law: irregularities in the disciplinary proceedings

The claim that matters not dealt with in the disciplinary proceedings were taken into account

'44 The Court must also reject the applicant's argument that the appointing authority's report to the Disciplinary Board did not include the contents of the book among the facts complained of but was limited to referring to formal infringements of Articles 11, 12 and 17 of the Staff Regulations. In that regard, it must be observed that the report indicated, without any ambiguity, that the contents of the book at issue, in particular its polemical nature, were among the facts alleged against the applicant. In particular, in paragraph 23 et seq. of the report, the appointing authority considered that there had been an infringement of Article 12 of the Staff Regulations on the grounds that publication of the book in itself reflects on Mr Connolly's position as he hasbeen head of the unit at the Commission ... responsible for the matters recounted in the book and, furthermore, in the book, Mr Connolly makes certain derogatory and unsubstantiated attacks on Commissioners and other members of the Commission's staff in such a way as to reflect on his position and to bring the Commission into disrepute contrary to his obligations under Article 12. The report went on to cite specifically certain statements made by the applicant in his book and the annex to the report included numerous extracts from it.

45 It follows that, in accordance with Article 1 of Annex IX, the appointing authority's report apprised the applicant of the facts alleged against him with sufficient precision for him to be in a position to exercise his rights of defence.

46 That interpretation is also borne out by the fact that, as is clear from the minutes of the applicant's hearing before it, the Disciplinary Board, on several occasions during the hearing, made its position clear regarding the purpose and content of his book.

47 Furthermore, the applicant, at his final hearing before the appointing authority on 9 January 1996, neither contended that the Disciplinary Board's opinion was founded on complaints which ought to be regarded as new facts nor applied, as he was entitled to do under Article 11 of Annex IX, for the disciplinary proceedings to be reopened (see, to that effect, the judgment of the Court of First Instance in Case T-549/93 D v Commission [1995] ECR-SC I-A-13, II-43, paragraph 55).

48 As to the applicant's argument that the report submitted to the Disciplinary Board did not refer to the fact that he had published an article on 6 September 1995 for the purpose of promoting his book or that he had taken part in a television broadcast on 26 September 1995, it need merely be noted that, contrary to the applicant's contention, the appointing authority had specifically referred to those facts in paragraph 19 of the report.

49 Accordingly, the first part of the plea must be rejected.

The Disciplinary Board's failure to draw up a report

'73 In the present case, the minutes of the first meeting of the Disciplinary Board show that, in accordance with Article 3 of Annex IX, the Chairman appointed one of the members of the Board as rapporteur to prepare a report on the matter as a whole. Although it appears from the minutes in the file that the rapporteur was not the only member of the Disciplinary Board to question theapplicant and the witness at the hearings, it cannot be inferred from that fact that the rapporteur's duties were not performed.

74 Furthermore, as regards the complaint that no report was prepared on the matter as a whole, Article 3 of Annex IX is confined to laying down the rapporteur's duties and does not prescribe any specific formalities concerning the way in which they should be performed, such as whether a written report should be produced or whether such a report should be disclosed to the parties. Consequently, there is no reason why the rapporteur should not present his report orally to the other members of the Disciplinary Board. In the present case, the applicant has failed to establish that no report was presented. Furthermore, the applicant has not produced the slightest evidence to show either that the Disciplinary Board failed to undertake an inquiry which was sufficiently complete and which afforded him all the guarantees intended by the Staff Regulations (see Case 228/83 F v Commission [1985] ECR 275, paragraph 30, and Case T-500/93 Y v Court of Justice [1996] ECR-SC I-A-335, II-977, paragraph 52), or, therefore, that it was unable to adjudicate on the matter with full knowledge of the facts. In those circumstances, the applicant's argument must be rejected.

...

76 Consequently, the third part of the plea must be rejected.

The inappropriate participation of the Chairman of the Disciplinary Board in the proceedings

'82 In the present case, it is clear from the actual wording of the Disciplinary Board's opinion that it was not necessary for its Chairman to take part in the vote on the reasoned opinion and that the opinion was adopted by a majority of the four other members. It is also clear from the minutes on the file that, when the proceedings were opened, the Chairman of the Disciplinary Board confined himself to inviting the members of the Board to consider whether the facts complained of had been proved and to decide on the severity of the disciplinary measure to be imposed, that being within the normal scope of his authority. Therefore, the applicant cannot reasonably plead an infringement of Article 8 of Annex IX on the ground that the Chairman of the Disciplinary Board played an active part in the deliberations.

83 In any event, it must be emphasised that the Chairman of the Disciplinary Board must be present during its proceedings so that, inter alia, he can, if necessary, vote with full knowledge of the facts to resolve tied votes or procedural questions.

84 The bias that the Chairman of the Disciplinary Board is alleged to have demonstrated vis-à-vis the applicant during the hearing is not corroborated by any evidence. Consequently, since it has, moreover, been neither alleged nor established that the Disciplinary Board failed in its duty, as an investigative body, to act in an independent and impartial manner (see, in that regard, F v Commission, paragraph 16, and Case T-74/96 Tzoanos v Commission [1998] ECR-SC I-A-129, II-343, paragraph 340), the applicant's argument must be rejected.

85 Therefore, the fourth part of the plea cannot be accepted.

The second plea in law: the reasons given were insufficient and the Disciplinary Board infringed Article 7 of Annex IX, the rights of the defence and the principle of sound administration

'92 Under Article 7 of Annex IX, the Disciplinary Board must, after consideration of the documents submitted and having regard to any statements made orally or in writing by the official concerned and by witnesses, and also to the results of any inquiry undertaken, deliver a reasoned opinion of the disciplinary measure appropriate to the facts complained of.

'108 In that regard, it is clear both from the applicant's statements to the Disciplinary Board and from the deposition of his publisher submitted by the applicant at that time that royalties on the sales of his book were actually paid to him by his publisher. Therefore, the applicant's argument that there was no infringement of Article 11 of the Staff Regulations on the basis that receipt of those royalties did not result in any person outside his institution exercising influence over him cannot be accepted. Such an argument takes no account of the objective conditions in which the prohibition laid down by the second paragraph of Article 11 of the Staff Regulations operates, namely acceptance of payment of any kind from any person outside the institution, without the permission of the appointing authority. The Court finds that those conditions were met in the present case.

109 The applicant cannot reasonably maintain that that interpretation of the second paragraph of Article 11 of the Staff Regulations entails a breach of the right to property as laid down in Article 1 of the First Protocol to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms signed at Rome on 4 November 1950 (hereinafter the ECHR).

110 First, it should be observed that in the present case there has been no infringement of the right to property, since the Commission has not confiscated any sums received by the applicant by way of remuneration for his book.

'124 According to settled case-law, [the first paragraph of Article 12 of the Staff Regulations] is designed, primarily, to ensure that Community officials, in their conduct, present a dignified image which is in keeping with the particularly correct and respectable behaviour one is entitled to expect from members of an international civil service (Case T-146/94 Williams v Court of Auditors [1996] ECR-SC I-A-103, II-329, paragraph 65; hereinafter Williams II; N v Commission, paragraph 127, and Case T-183/96 E v ESC [1998] ECR-SC I-A-67, II-159, paragraph 39). It follows, in particular, that where insulting remarks are made publicly by an official, which are detrimental to the honour of the persons to whom they refer, that in itself constitutes a reflection on the official's position for the purposes of the first paragraph of Article 12 of the Staff Regulations (order of 21 January 1997 in Case C-156/96 P Williams v Court of Auditors [1997] ECR I-239, paragraph 21; Case T-146/89 Williams v Court of Auditors [1991] ECR II-1293, paragraphs 76 and 80 (hereinafter Williams I), and Williams II, paragraph 66).

125 In the present case, the documents before the Court and the extracts which the Commission has cited show that the book at issue contains numerous aggressive, derogatory and frequently insulting statements, which aredetrimental to the honour of the persons and institutions to which they refer and which have been extremely well publicised, particularly in the press. Contrary to the appellant's contention, the statements cited by the Commission, and referred to in the appointing authority's report to the Disciplinary Board, cannot be categorised as mere instances of lightness of style but must be regarded as, in themselves, reflecting on the official's position.

126 The argument that ultimately neither the Disciplinary Board nor the appointing authority relied on the abovementioned complaint when giving reasons for the dismissal is unfounded. Both of them specifically stated in the opinion and in the decision removing Mr Connolly from his post, that Mr Connolly's behaviour, taken as a whole, has reflected on his position. The fact that extracts from the book are not expressly cited in the decision removing the applicant from his post (as they were in the appointing authority's report to the Disciplinary Board) cannot therefore be interpreted as meaning that the complaint concerning an infringement of the first paragraph of Article 12 of the Staff Regulations had been dropped. That is particularly so since the decision removing the applicant from his post constitutes the culmination of disciplinary proceedings, with whose details the applicant was sufficiently familiar and during which, as is clear from the minutes in the file, the applicant had had an opportunity to give his views on the content of the statements found in his book.

127 Further, the first paragraph of Article 12 of the Staff Regulations specifically sets out, as do Articles 11 and 21, the duty of loyalty incumbent upon every official (see N v Commission, paragraph 129, approved on appeal by the Court of Justice's order in Case C-252/97 P N v Commission [1998] ECR I-4871). Contrary to the applicant's contention, it cannot be concluded from the judgment in Williams I that that duty arises only under Article 21 of the Staff Regulations, since the Court of First Instance drew attention in that judgment to the fact that the duty of loyalty constitutes a fundamental duty owed by every official to the institution to which he belongs and to his superiors, a duty of which Article 21 of the Staff Regulations is a particular manifestation. Consequently, the Court must reject the argument that the appointing authority could not legitimately invoke, vis-à-vis the applicant, a breach of his duty of loyalty, on the ground that the report to the Disciplinary Board did not cite an infringement of Article 21 of the Staff Regulations.

128 Similarly, the Court must reject the argument that the duty of loyalty does not involve preserving the relationship of trust between the official and his institution but involves only loyalty as regards the Treaties. The duty of loyalty requires not only that the official concerned refrains from conduct which reflects on his position and is detrimental to the respect due to the institution and its authorities (see, for example, the judgment in Williams I, paragraph 72, and Case T-293/94 Vela Palacios v ESC [1996] ECR-SC I-A-297, II-893, paragraph 43), but also that he must conduct himself, particularlyif he is of senior grade, in a manner that is beyond suspicion in order that the relationship of trust between that institution and himself may at all times be maintained (N v Commission, paragraph 129). In the present case, it should be observed that the book at issue, in addition to including statements which in themselves reflected on his position, publicly expressed, as the appointing authority has pointed out, the applicant's fundamental opposition to the Commission's policy, which it was his responsibility to implement, namely bringing about economic and monetary union, an objective which is, moreover, laid down in the Treaty.

129 In that context, it is not reasonable for the applicant to contend that there has been a breach of the principle of freedom of expression. It is clear from the case-law on the subject that, although freedom of expression constitutes a fundamental right which Community officials also enjoy (Case C-100/88 Oyowe and Traore v Commission [1989] ECR 4285, paragraph 16), it is nevertheless the case that Article 12 of the Staff Regulations, as construed above, does not constitute a bar to the freedom of expression of those officials but imposes reasonable limits on the exercise of that right in the interest of the service (E v ESC, paragraph 41).

130 Finally, it must be emphasised that that interpretation of the first paragraph of Article 12 of the Staff Regulations cannot be challenged on the ground that, in the present case, publication of the book at issue occurred during a period of leave on personal grounds. In that regard, it is clear from Article 35 of the Staff Regulations that leave on personal grounds constitutes one of the administrative statuses which an official may be assigned, with the result that, during such a period, the person concerned remains bound by the obligations borne by every official, in the absence of express provision to the contrary. Since Article 12 of the Staff Regulations applies to all officials, without any distinction based on their status, the fact that the applicant was on such leave cannot release him from his obligations under that article. That is particularly so since an official's concern for the respect due to his position is not confined to the particular time at which he carries out a specific task but is expected from him under all circumstances (Williams II, paragraph 68). The same is true of the duty of loyalty which, according to the case-law, applies not only in the performance of specific tasks but extends to the whole relationship between the official and the institution (Williams I, paragraph 72 and E v ESC, paragraph 47).

131 Accordingly, the appointing authority was fully entitled to take the view that the applicant's behaviour had reflected on his position and involved an irremediable breach of the trust which the Commission is entitled to expect from its officials.

132 It follows that the plea must be rejected.

The fifth plea in law: infringement of Article 17 of the Staff Regulations

'147 In the present case, it is not disputed that the applicant went ahead with publication of his book without applying for the prior permission required by the provision cited above. However, the applicant, without expressly raising an objection of illegality to the effect that the second paragraph of Article 17 of the Staff Regulations as a whole is unlawful, submits that the Commission's interpretation of the provision is contrary to the principle of freedom of expression.

'165 It is settled case-law that once the truth of the allegations against the official has been established, the choice of appropriate disciplinary measure is a matter for the appointing authority and the Community Courts may not substitute their own assessment for that of the authority, save in cases of manifest error or a misuse of powers (Case 46/72 De Greef v Commission [1973] ECR 543, paragraph 45; F v Commission, paragraph 34; Williams I, paragraph 83; and D v Commission, paragraph 96). It must also be borne in mind that the determination of the penalty to be imposed is based on a comprehensive appraisal by the appointing authority of all the particular facts and circumstances peculiar to each individual case, since Articles 86 to 89 of the Staff Regulations do not specify any fixed relationship between the measures provided for and the various sorts of infringements and do not state the extent to which the existence of aggravating or mitigating circumstances should affect the choice of penalty (Case 403/85 F v Commission [1987] ECR 645, paragraph 26; Williams I, paragraph 83; and Y v Parliament, paragraph 34).

166 In the present case, it must be first be pointed out that the truth of the allegations against the applicant has been established.

167 Second, the penalty imposed cannot be regarded as either disproportionate or as resulting from a manifest error of assessment. Even though it is not disputed that the applicant had a good service record, the appointing authority was nevertheless fully entitled to find that, having regard to the gravity of the facts established and the applicant's grade and responsibilities, such a factor was not capable of mitigating the penalty to be imposed.

168 Furthermore, the applicant's argument that account should have been taken of his good faith regarding what he believed to be the scope of the duties of an official on leave on personal grounds cannot be accepted. It is clear from the case-law that officials are deemed to know the Staff Regulations (Case T-12/94Daffix v Commission [1997] ECR-SC I-A-453, II-1197, paragraph 116; Joined Cases T-116/96, T-212/96 and T-215/96 Telchini and Others v Commission [1998] ECR-SC I-A-327, II-947, paragraph 59), with the result that their alleged ignorance of their obligations cannot constitute good faith. That argument has even less force in the present case since the applicant has admitted that his colleagues knew of his intention to work on the book at issue during his leave on personal grounds, whereas, in his request to the appointing authority under Article 40 of the Staff Regulations, he had given reasons unconnected with his book. Given that such statements are contrary to the honesty and trust which should govern relations between the administration and officials and are incompatible with the integrity which each official is required to show (see, to that effect, Joined Cases 175/86 and 209/86 M v Council [1988] ECR 1891, paragraph 21), the appointing authority was entitled to treat the applicant's argument concerning his alleged good faith as unfounded.

169 Consequently, the plea must be rejected.

The seventh plea in law: misuse of powers

'171 According to the case-law, a misuse of powers consists in an administrative authority using its powers for a purpose other than that for which they were conferred on it. Thus, a decision may amount to a misuse of powers only if it appears, on the basis of objective, relevant and consistent indicia, to have been taken for purposes other than those stated (Williams I, paragraphs 87 and 88).

172 As regards the statements made by certain members of the Commission before commencement of the disciplinary proceedings, it need merely be observed that ... those statements constituted no more than a provisional assessment by the relevant members of the Commission and could not, in the circumstances of the case, adversely affect the proper conduct of the disciplinary proceedings.

173 Nor can the applicant's argument that the Commission should have warned him of the risks that he was running by publishing his book be accepted. The Commission rightly points out that it cannot be held liable for initiatives which the applicant had taken care to conceal from it when he requested leave on personal grounds. Furthermore, the arguments alleging that there were irregularities in the disciplinary proceedings and that the applicant acted in good faith must also be rejected for the reasons set out in connection with the first and sixth pleas.

174 As to the argument alleging that the Commission changed the general rules for calculating salary reductions in cases of suspension, it need merely be pointed out that the change was not specifically linked to the applicant's removal from his post and cannot therefore constitute proof of the alleged misuse of powers.

175 Accordingly, it has not been established that, when imposing the disciplinary measure, the appointing authority pursued any aim other than that of safeguarding the internal order of the Community civil service. The seventh plea must therefore be rejected.

The appeal

- set aside the contested judgment;

- annul so far as necessary the opinion of the Disciplinary Board;

- annul the contested decision;

- annul the decision of 12 July 1996 rejecting his administrative complaint;

- order the Commission to pay him BEF 7 500 000 in respect of material damage and BEF 1 500 000 in respect of non-material damage;

- order the Commission to pay the costs both of the proceedings before the Court of First Instance and of the present proceedings.

- dismiss the appeal as partially inadmissible and, in any event, as entirely unfounded;

- dismiss the claim for damages as inadmissible and unfounded;

- order Mr Connolly to pay the costs in their entirety.

The first ground of appeal

The admissibility of the ground of appeal

Substance

The second ground of appeal

The third ground of appeal

The fourth ground of appeal

The fifth ground of appeal

The sixth ground of appeal

The seventh ground of appeal

The eighth ground of appeal

The ninth ground of appeal

The tenth ground of appeal

The eleventh ground of appeal

The twelfth ground of appeal

The thirteenth ground of appeal

Costs