The ECJ will hear two appeals seeking the setting aside of the judgment of the General Court in Ordre néerlandais des avocats du barreau de Bruxelles and Others v Council (T-797/22), as well as in Ordre des avocats à la cour de Paris and Couturier v Council (T-798/22): Case C-865/24 P and Case C-866/24 P.

Both judgments under appeal concern the dismissal by the General Court of actions seeking the annulment of (i) Article 1(12) of Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1904 of 6 October 2022 amending Regulation (EU) 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, which lay down a prohibition on the provision of legal advisory services to the Russian Government and entities established in Russia.

The appellants claim, in essence, that the General Court violated Articles 7 and 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, in conjunction with the principles of the rule of law, legal certainty, as well as the obligation to adequately state reasons, in so far as it did not recognise that the provision at issue does not give rise to interference with the fundamental right of every person to consult a lawyer in order to obtain legal advice. They also claim that the Court violated the principle of proportionality, as enshrined in Article 52(1) of the Charter, by failing to respect the essential content of the right to an effective remedy.

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