EU Court annuls PKK’s 2014-17 sanctions listing

The EU General Court has allowed the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) application to annul its 2014 to 2017 terrorism sanctions listings – see judgment: T-316/14. The Court held that the EU had breached its obligation to state reasons because (in summary) a “significant” period of time (over 10 years) had elapsed since the adoption of the material justifying the PKK’s initial designation in 2002, of which was no longer sufficient in determining whether the PKK’s involvement in terrorist activities persisted at the time when the contested acts were adopted between 2014 and 2017.

In 2008, the PKK had successfully challenged its June 2002 terrorism sanctions listing before the EU Court (judgment: T-229/02), on the basis that the EU had again breached its obligation to state reasons.

In March and July 2018, the EU renewed the PKK’s terrorism sanctions listing in Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/468 and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1071. Those 2018 re-listings, were not addressed in this judgment so the PKK continues to remain on the EU terrorism sanctions list.