European Court of Justice Upholds Lower Court's Damages Ruling Over Sanctions Listing

The European Court of Justice dismissed an appeal on Nov. 18 by Fereydoun Mahmoudian that sought to increase the amount of compensation awarded to Mahmoudian from the General Court's decision to give him over $80,000 due to his inclusion on the European Union's Iran sanctions list. Unsatisfied with this amount, Mahmoudian sought over $1 million in material damages and $564,000 for non-pecuniary damages from the ECJ or to remand the case to the General Court. The appealed damage payments awarded by the lower court also included payments of over $560 for every month his assets were frozen. The ECJ ruled that the General Court was right to find that Mahmoudian gave insufficient evidence to establish the reality and extent of the alleged damages, and that the General Court's numbers were properly supported. The ECJ also ordered Mahmoudian to bear his own costs and pay those incurred by the European Council, but the European Commission was required to pay its own costs.