After the Yusuf and Kadi cases, another two cases entered in the CFI attention.Once again in the Ayadi and Hassan cases the CFI ruled that the fundamental rights of two terrorist suspects were not violated when EU Member States froze their assets.
Ireland and the UK froze the bank accounts of a Tunisian and Libyan national, respectively, after European Council Regulation 881/2002, which implemented several UN Security Council resolutions, authorized Member States to freeze the assets of persons suspected of affiliation with al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, or the Taliban. The two suspects, Chafiq Ayadi from Tunisia and the Libyan Faraj Hassan, petitioned the CFI to annul the regulation on the basis that the asset freezes offended their fundamental human rights.
In separate judgments in both the Ayadi and Hassan cases, the court held that under the circumstances, the regulation does not prevent the individuals concerned from leading a satisfactory personal, family, and social life, as the petitioners could still earn money.
The CFI also stressed that petitioners may request judicial review by national courts, rather than EU courts, when the national judiciary refuses to bring their petitions before the UN committee that determines sanctions against terror suspects.
In conclusion, the CFI held last year that the European Union can freeze the assets of suspected terrorists under its treaty powers.
Text of the CFI judgment in Ayadi
Text of the CFI judgment in Hassan
