2 May, 2002: At the UK’s behest and under Spanish presidency, the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council included the PMOI in the EU list of terrorist organizations. The decision must be reviewed every six months by all EU member states. The PMOI’s assets were frozen in the EU, making fund-raising impossible.
26 July, 2002: The PMOI filed a petition before the EU Court of First Instance in Luxembourg, attacking the decision of the Council on the grounds of infringement of the following: The right to a fair hearing, essential procedural requirements, the right to effective judicial protection, the presumption of innocence, a manifest error of assessment, the right to revolt against tyranny and oppression.
12 February 2003: The UK joined the case as a third party in support of the Council decision, but was the only EU member state to do so.
7 Feb., 2006: At the oral court hearing the UK refused to substantiate its claim that other EU “competent authorities” besides the UK Home Secretary had also decided to list the PMOI as a terrorist organization.
29 May, 2006: The Council renewed the list which included the PMOI; the Court had not yet ruled.
12 Dec., 2006: The court retroactively annuled the Council Decision of 21 December 2005. The Court found that the contested decision did not contain a sufficient statement of reasons and that the applicant’s right to a fair hearing had not been observed. The Court said the Council Decision “is eliminated retroactively from the legal order and is deemed never to have existed” and ordered the Council to bear its own costs and to pay four fifths of the applicant’s costs.
21 Dec, 2006: The Council imcluded some new names to the terror list, but did not specifically mention renewal of the PMOI’s listing.
12 Feb, 2007: The deadline for appeal of the judgment lapsed by, without the Council or the UK lodging an appeal. The judgment was therefore final.
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