Action for Annulment
An annulment action under EU law is a legal procedure that allows certain persons to challenge the validity of acts adopted by EU institutions, bodies, or agencies. It is governed by Article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
An annulment action seeks to have an EU act declared legally void. If the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) finds that the act violates EU law, it annuls it. The objective is to protect persons concerned from unlawful EU measures.
Privileged applicants are always allowed to bring a case. Hence, Member States, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and European Commission can challenge any act, even if it doesn’t directly affect them. The Court of Auditors, the European Central Bank, and the Committee of the Regions as semi-privileged applicants can bring actions only to defend their competences.
Everyone else, so-called non-privileged applicants (individuals, companies, non-governmental organisations) can bring an action only under stricter conditions:
- The act must be addressed to them, or
- The act must directly and individually concern them (the Plaumann test), or
- It must be a regulatory act that directly concerns them and does not require further implementing measures.
EU acts – including regulations, directives, decisions, and other acts producing legal effects – can be annulled if they suffer from any of the following:
- Lack of competence.
- Infringement of essential procedural requirements.
- Infringement of higher-ranking EU law.
- Misuse of powers.
In most cases, the action must be brought before the General Court as the first instance. The time limit to file the action is within two months of publication or notification of the measure.
Appeals against General Court decisions on points of law can be made to the Court of Justice.
The instrument of an annulment action ensures that EU institutions act lawfully and respect fundamental rights and procedural guarantees and provides individuals, enterprises, and non-governmental organisations a way to protect themselves from unlawful EU action.
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