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… The 4. 6 of the of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the ’) provides that ‘everyone has the right to liberty and security of person’. 5. Under of the , entitled ‘Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial’: ‘Everyone whose rights and freedoms guaranteed by the law of the Union are violated has the right to an effective remedy before a tribunal in compliance with the conditions laid down in this . …

… Everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an and tribunal previously established by law. Everyone shall have the possibility of being advised, defended and represented. …’ 6. Article 48 of the Charter, entitled ‘Presumption of innocence and right of defence’, reads as follows: ‘1. Everyone who has been charged shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. 2. …

… The second paragraph of provides that everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an and tribunal previously established by law. 53 According to the explanations relating to of the of Fundamental Rights, which, under the third subparagraph of Article 6(1) TEU and Article 52(7) of the Charter, must be given due regard in the interpretation of the Charter, that article corresponds to Article 6(1) of the ECHR. 54 As …

… Germany, CE:ECHR:2006:0629DEC005493400, § 79), it also constitutes a limitation on the exercise of the corresponding right enshrined in 7 of the of Fundamental Rights. 52 It should also be recalled that the first paragraph of of the of Fundamental Rights provides that everyone whose rights and freedoms guaranteed by the law of the European Union are violated has the right to an effective remedy before a tribunal in compliance with the conditions laid down in that …

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… Legal context EU law The 3 of the of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’), entitled ‘Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial’, is worded as follows: ‘Everyone whose rights and freedoms guaranteed by the law of the Union are violated has the right to an effective remedy before a tribunal in compliance with the conditions laid down in this . …

… Everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an and tribunal previously established by law. …

… In that connection, the first paragraph of of the provides that everyone whose rights and freedoms guaranteed by EU law are violated has the right to an effective remedy before a tribunal in compliance with the conditions laid down in that . Under the second paragraph of , everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an and tribunal previously established by law. …

… The third paragraph of of the provides specifically that legal aid is to be made available to those who lack sufficient resources in so far as such aid is necessary to ensure effective access to justice. 32. …

… The relevant provisions of the of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (which had not yet acquired binding force at the material time) provide: – Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial “Everyone whose rights and freedoms guaranteed by the law of the Union are violated has the right to an effective remedy before a tribunal in compliance with the conditions laid down in this . …

… , entitled ‘Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial’, provides: ‘Everyone whose rights and freedoms guaranteed by the law of the Union are violated has the right to an effective remedy before a tribunal in compliance with the conditions laid down in this Article. Everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an and tribunal previously established by law. …

… Article 9 TEU provides: ‘In all its activities, the Union shall observe the principle of the equality of its citizens …’ of Fundamental Rights of the European Union 10. 20 of the of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the ’) (7) provides: ‘Everyone is equal before the law.’ 11. …

… The referring court’s duty of 73. Both the Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights have had occasion, in the course of their case-law, to define the concept of an ‘ tribunal’ as established in of the and 6(1) of the ECHR respectively. (37) 74. …

… Indeed, the Court has made the of the judiciary, one aspect of that being , (38) one of the defining criteria of ‘court or tribunal’ within the meaning of Article 267 TFEU. (39) Thus, the impartiality of the judge must be regarded as a condition of recourse to the preliminary reference procedure. 75. A judge is presumed to be impartial, (40) that is to say free of prejudice or bias. (41) 76. …

… First of all, 41 of the , entitled ‘Right to good administration’, confers on every person ‘the right to have his or her affairs handled , fairly and within a reasonable time by the institutions and bodies of the Union’. (15) Secondly, of the , concerning the ‘Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial’ states that everyone is entitled to ‘a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an and tribunal previously established …

… In addition, the requirement to observe the reasonable period principle currently appears expressly in two of the . 35. …

… (16) The title and wording of 41 of the Charter, however, put an end to such uncertainty. It is the ‘right to good administration’, (17) a right [which] includes inter alia … the right of every person to be heard before any individual measure which would affect him or her adversely is taken, the right of every person to have access to his or her file, [or] the obligation of the administration to give reasons for its decisions’. (18) 38. …

… The first plea in law 82 The first plea is based on 6 of the ECHR and of the of Fundamental Rights. According to the applicant, it is apparent from those two read together that a fine may be imposed only by an ‘ and tribunal established by law’ which fulfils all the procedural safeguards provided for in Article 6 ECHR. Not only is the Commission not a court, but it combines prosecution and decision-making functions. …

… of the adds more specific remedial protection, such as a requirement that hearings be fair, public, conducted within a reasonable time by an and tribunal established by law, that the rights of the defence are respected, and that legal aid is available. 35 - The explanations go on to state that the second paragraph of , encapsulating, inter alia, the fairness of hearings, corresponds to Article 6(1) ECHR. 36 - De Geouffre de la Pradelle v. …

… and 188 of the Code of Fiscal Procedure. 31 - See paragraph 20 above. 32 - The case file does not provide the date on which proceedings were instituted. 33 - At the hearing Mr Târșia contended that this uncertainty was clarified by a decision of the Romanian High Court of Cassation in Decision 24/2011 before he instituted the second proceedings seeking to rely on the exception to res judicata, but after the initial action brought on the basis of payment of the special tax on motor vehicles. 34 - …

… A plea of that kind cannot therefore be fully effective in the context of an administrative appeal procedure (judgment in CR v Parliament, EU:F:2014:38, paragraph 40). 48 Thirdly and lastly, the Tribunal points out that the principle of effective judicial protection is a general principle of EU law to which expression is now given by the second paragraph of of the , pursuant to which ‘[e]veryone is entitled to a … hearing … by an and tribunal … established …

… That paragraph corresponds to 6(1) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950 (‘the ECHR’) (review judgment in Arango Jaramillo and Others v EIB, C-334/12 RX-II, EU:C:2013:134, paragraphs 40 and 42). 49 According to the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights on the interpretation of Article 6(1) of the ECHR, to which reference must be made in accordance with Article 52(3) of the Charter, the exercise of …