Calvin Williams v Court of Auditors of the European Communities. [1997] EUECJ C-156/96P (21 January 1997)
Uttering serious public insults by an official is sufficient to infringe Article 12 of the Staff Regulations, and the lawfulness of disciplinary measures does not depend on whether the conduct constitutes criminal defamation.
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [1997] EUECJ C-156/96P
- Parties
- Appellant: Calvin Williams; Respondent: Court of Auditors of the European Communities
- Jurisdiction
- European Union
- Procedural Posture
- Appeal / Order
- Outcome
- appeal dismissed
- Legal Topics
- Officials' Rights and Obligations, Disciplinary Proceedings, Duty of Loyalty, Acts Incompatible With Office, Removal From Post
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Calvin Williams
Appellant
Court of Auditors of the European Communities
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Order
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether uttering serious public insults by an official constitutes an act incompatible with the dignity of office under Article 12 of the Staff Regulations
- 2 Whether the Court of First Instance must assess if the conduct amounts to criminal defamation when reviewing disciplinary measures
Ratio Decidendi
Uttering serious public insults by an official is sufficient to infringe Article 12 of the Staff Regulations, and the lawfulness of disciplinary measures does not depend on whether the conduct constitutes criminal defamation.
Court Disposition
appeal dismissed
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
[ Home ] [ Databases ] [ World Law ] [ Multidatabase Search ] [ Help ] [ Feedback ] [ DONATE ] Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) >> Calvin Williams v Court of Auditors of the European Communities. [1997] EUECJ C-156/96P (21 January 1997) URL: https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/1997/C15696.html Cite as: [1997] EUECJ C-156/96P [ New search ] [ Help ] IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE - The source of this judgment is the web site of the Court of Justice of the European Communities . The information in this database has been provided free of charge and is subject to a Court of Justice of the European Communities disclaimer and a copyright notice . This electronic version is not authentic and is subject to amendment. 61996O0156 Order of the Court (First Chamber) of 21 January 1997. Calvin Williams v Court of Auditors of the European Communities. Appeal - Officials - Obligations - Acts incompatible with the dignity of the official's office - Duty of loyalty - Disciplinary proceedings - Removal from post. Case C-156/96 P. European Court reports 1997 Page I-00239 Officials - Rights and obligations - Acts capable of reflecting on the dignity of office - Serious insults - Disciplinary measure - Judicial review (Staff Regulations of Officials, Art. 12, first para.) An official who utters in public serious insults detrimental to the honour of the persons to whom they refer reflects on the dignity of his office and infringes the first paragraph of Article 12 of the Staff Regulations. In assessing the lawfulness of a disciplinary measure in the light of that provision, the Court of First Instance is not required to examine whether the conduct in question constitutes defamation as it might be defined in criminal law. © European Communities, 2001 All rights reserved BAILII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Donate to BAILII URL: https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/1997/C15696.html