Legal support/Lawyer

The reflex that many of us have when we learning about a decision or a choice that concerns us, is to “call a lawyer” to help us defend ourselves against the injustice we perceive. This is human and the questions you bring to the trade union are difficult to list because they cover absolutely all aspects of the Staff Regulations in the broad sense (included its annexes, Commission decisions relating to staff, General Implementing Provisions (GIPs) of the Staff Regulations, Directives/Rules/Decisions, Financial Regulations, case law, etc.).

First you have to put yourself in the right frame of mind. Indeed, any act/decision/information concerning you is governed by one or more articles and/or annexes to the Staff Regulations and its “secondary legislation”. Your union USF-L and its Federation USF of course have expertise in many areas (see link below) and are here to advise you. However, some subjects are highly complex and/or technical and may require the intervention of an expert. Finally, several successive and mandatory processes apply to us:

1. The pre-litigation process:
   1. appeal against the staff report or against the non-proposal for promotion, through the Sysper tool with its own deadlines and rules, or
   2. the common pre-litigation process, i.e. the remedies provided for in the Statute (Art.90). The ‘complaint’ must be made within 90 days of the act adversely affecting the person concerned.
2. Proceedings before the General Court of the European Union

This sequence must be scrupulously followed.

There are also two very important basic concepts to consider:

1. The act adversely affecting the person concerned: it is information, more or less formal, that is brought to your attention. For example, a decision in the form of a pay slip informing you of whether or not an allowance is present. Another example is a negative answer from the PMO on a refund or your entitlement to compensation.
2. If beyond the pre-litigation procedures you wish to proceed to the next stage (General Court of the European Union), the latter does not accept that you bring elements that have not been presented in the prior stages (pre-litigation process, if and when it applies).

Hence the importance ahead of the advice of your union and, in the technical and complex cases mentioned above, the support of a specialised lawyer. The latter will give you, on the one hand, the best advice on what to do and when (and this may also involve not going further) and, on the other hand, the best chances of winning with a good argument based on the case law on the matter.

The devil is in detail. Each employee has different conditions depending on his/her contractual relationship (Official, Temporary Agent, Contract Agent, etc.), his residence, place of origin, with or without a partner, with or without children, etc. We can help you analyse your situation, that of your financial rights, that of your career and advise you on what to do, if necessary, with the support of a lawyer.

USF-L regularly works with several lawyers specialised in the various subjects of the Staff Regulations. USF-L may cover all or part of the costs of lawyers for its members, the choice being made on a case-by-case basis.

Do not hesitate to contact us. We are at your disposal.

Disclaimer:

We always try to provide you with the latest information. However, the fast evolution of the situation does not always allow us to timely update this page content. The references hereunder (leaflets and news) might provide you with additional information. However, if you need to have a quick update don’t hesitate to contact us: REP-PERS-OSP-USF-LUXEMBOURG@ec.europa.eu

LEGAL BASIS: Staff Regulations: Title VII (proceedings) and in particular Article 90 (claims)

OTHER USEFUL LINKS: Union Syndicale Fédérale Legal Newsletter