Luxemburg, 10/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Organisation of the Mujahidine of the People of Iran (OMPI) to press on Thursday 10 May that it had taken the EU Council of Ministers to the European Court of Justice. According to the Iranian organisation's lawyers, the continuing presence of the name of the OMPI on the European list of terrorist organisations, despite last year's ruling by the Court of First Instance, is an infringement of the EC Treaty. If the Court agrees to the OMPI's call for an accelerated procedure, the case could be heard by the end of the summer.
The judgment by the Court of First Instance in 12 December 2006 annulled several “editions” of the list (which is updated every six months) as far as OMPI was concerned (see EUROPE 9400), but is not entirely clear about the status of the current list, which dates from May 2006. The Council does not consider that the ruling renders this latest list invalid, and, so, has not unfrozen the funds and assets of the organisation. As Paulo Casaca, Socialist group MEP and member of the association “Friends of Iran”, says this makes the Iranian opposition's “political fight against the real terrorists the regime of the Ayatollah of Iran” very difficult.
David Vaughan, a member of the English and Welsh Bar, feels that this lack of action probably reflects a decision within the Council and goes against the judgment. It is against “this manifest and grave breach of the Treaty” that the OMPI has taken the matter to the Court, claiming over €1 million in material and non-material damages.
The OMPI argument carries some weight, but the Council, too, has legal weapons. The key paragraph in the judgment (§35) allows for measures to be taken regarding more recent lists, but refers to amendment or withdrawal only in the conditional tense, “if the need arises”. It would seem, however, that other possible measures could be, for example, providing more concrete information to support inclusion on the list. This could, however, harm the Council's position, since there is no evidence of terrorist activities carried out by the OMPI since 2001. That, indeed, was the organisation's original argument for removal from the list. (cd)