The European Court of Justice has set aside the General Court’s judgment (T-65/18, 20 September 2019) that declared inadmissible Venezuela’s application to annul the EU’s Venezuela sanctions imposed by Council Regulation (EU) 2017/2063 (previous post). Case C-872/19 P.
The Court held that the state of Venezuela can challenge those sanctions in the General Court because it:
- is a “legal person”; and
- is “directly concerned” by the sanctions because they directly affect the legal situation of the State (they impose prohibitions on the State and prevent it from obtaining numerous goods and services) and leave no discretion as to how they are implemented.
The Court agreed with the Advocate General’s Opinion in January (previous post). The case has been referred back to the General Court for judgment on the merits of Venezuela’s challenge.
Source: European Sanctions
