Marcel Gossio loses challenge to European Ivory Coast sanctions designation

The General Court has dismissed Marcel Gossio’s application to annul his inclusion in the EU’s sanctions against the Ivory Coast; Case T-130/11 of 25 April 2013. The Court held that the reasons the Council gave for including him were sufficient because they enabled him to know why he had been listed and to refute the factual basis for his listing. The fact that similar reasons had been given for designating others did not matter.

The Court also considered the merits of the Council’s reasons for including him. Mr Gossio argued that the Council should not be able to rely on the fact that he had “refused to place himself under the authority of the democratically elected president” as a reason for his designation. He said that he could not have placed himself under the authority of President Ouattara, or he would have been dismissed from his position as the Director General of the Port of Abidjan had he done so. The Court dismissed this argument, and held that Mr Gossio could have done so, and could not rely on his potential dismissal as a reason not to have placed himself under the President’s authority.