The General Court of the European Union has dismissed the appeal of businessman Marian Kočner - accused of being one of the instigators of the murders of Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend, Martina Kušnírová, in February 2018 (see EUROPE 11969/30) - against the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), in a judgment handed down on Wednesday 29 September (Case T-528/20).
Accusing Europol of disclosing the contents of private telephone discussions to the public and putting his name on ‘mafia lists’, Mr Kočner is claiming €100,000 compensation from Europol for damage to his honour, professional reputation and right to private and family life.
The General Court dismisses the appeal in its entirety. It recalls that the Union’s non-contractual liability for the damage allegedly caused by European Agencies, such as Europol, is subject to meeting the following three cumulative conditions: the illegality of the conduct of which the Agency is accused, the reality of the damage, and the existence of a causal link between that conduct and the damage claimed.
However, according to the General Court, Europol proved that it was not the only one to have access the disputed data at the time of their disclosure in the press, since it had already transmitted the transcripts of the telephone conversations to the Slovak authorities. And, even before the two murders, the press presented Mr Kočner as a mafioso and not as a controversial entrepreneur as the applicant maintains.
In June, the Slovak Supreme Court overturned the acquittal of Mr Kočner and Mrs Alena Zsuzsová in the Kuciak murder case and referred it to the Special Criminal Court.
See the General Court’s judgment (in French): https://bit.ly/3CZBNAC (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)