Iranian shipping company wins its re-listing case in European court

31/05/16

The General Court of the EU has annulled Good Luck Shipping’s two re-listings in 2013 on the EU’s nuclear proliferation sanctions on Iran (which have now in any event largely been lifted by the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action) in Joined Cases T-423/13 & T-64/14 Good Luck Shipping v Council [2016].

Good Luck Shipping successfully challenged its original sanctions listing in 2011, when it had been included on the basis of acting on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL).  This second case related to its two re-listings in 2013 (the EU’s frequent practice is to re-list people/entities that win annulment actions).  These two re-listings have just been held to have been unlawful (and the Council ordered to pay the applicant’s costs) because:

1. In the case of the 1st re-listing in June 2013, there was insufficient evidence; the Court said that a listing may only be assessed on the basis of evidence available to the EU Council at the time the listing was made, even if it could subsequently have been justified by new evidence; and
2. The 2nd and 3rd re-listings later in 2013 were unlawful because Good Luck had been re-listed on the basis of connections with IRISL at a time when IRISL’s own listing had been annulled so had no proper legal basis.

The judgment is here.