EU Court says NIOC subsidiary’s listing is justified

The General Court of the EU has dismissed an annulment application brought by Naftiran Intertrade Co. (NICO) Sàrl, a Swiss subsidiary of NICO. A link to the judgment is here: Case T-371/14 Naftiran Intertrade Co. (NICO) Sàrl v Council [2015].

The Court found that the reasons for the applicant’s listing were clear, namely being part of the NICO group of companies, which was owned by National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), which was sufficient justification for designation. There was no error of assessment in the fact that the structure of its parent company had changed; being a NIOC subsidiary was sufficient for designation. This is in line with the Court’s previous judgment on subsidiaries of NIOC (see previous blog).