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

1 Procedure - Procedure before the Court of First Instance - Parties entitled to protection against the misuse of procedural documents - Scope
(Instructions to the Registrar of the Court of First Instance, Art. 5(3))
2 Applications for interim measures - Conditions for admissibility - Consideration of the admissibility of the main application - Inappropriate - Limits
(EC Treaty, Arts 185 and 186; Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance, Art. 104(2))
3 Applications for interim measures - Interim measures - Conditions for granting - Serious and irreparable damage - Financial damage
(EC Treaty, Art. 186; Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance, Art. 104(2))

1 Under the rules governing procedure before the Court of First Instance and the third subparagraph of Article 5(3)of the Instructions to the Registrar, parties are entitled to protection against the misuse of procedural documents. It follows that the parties to a case are entitled to use the procedural documents of other parties only for the purpose of pursuing their own case.
2 In principle, the issue of the admissibility of the main application is not to be examined in proceedings for interim relief, so as not to prejudge the substance of the case. None the less, where it is contended that the main application to which the application for interim measures relates is manifestly inadmissible, it may prove necessary to establish whether there are any grounds for a prima facie finding that the main application is admissible. In that regard, it is particularly important to ensure that the applicants do not obtain, through proceedings for interim relief, the benefit of measures to which they would not be entitled if their action were declared inadmissible by the Court when it examines the substance of the case.
3 The condition (for the grant of interim relief)relating to the existence of a risk of serious and irreparable damage is not satisfied where the applicant undertaking alleges solely damage of a financial nature and does not adduce any evidence to justify a prima facie finding that the damage in question would be such as to threaten its survival or to cause it serious and irreparable harm and that it could not therefore be fully compensated in the event of the main action succeeding.