The EU Ombudsman
255
governance and the requirement that they should be specified. Moreover, it is a settled case law of the Court, which implies that an appeal does not meet the requirements of justification when only an abstract plea is given without being supported by specific information. That specification is also important to determine whether there is a correct interpretation or not.
The precautionary principle: hearing and reasonable time, and the effectiveness principle An infringement of the right to defence and the right to be heard is often called for. The right to be heard is one of the rights of defence that must be observed during the administrative procedure (in the case of an antitrust case). In secondary EU law, this was codified in article 19-1 of Regulation No 17. Article III-368 does not mean that the European Commission is following the whole process; the Commission can start from the moment it has committed an error in the procedure. In addition to the right to be heard, it is often called for the right to decide on a matter within a reasonable period of time. It is assumed that this right is recognized in the case law of the Court as a general principle of EU law both in the framework of the administrative procedure and in the context of the judicial procedure and in articles 41 and 47 of the Charter. Sometimes, a regulation prescribes that an authority should be asked for advice (including international law) and it appears that in a long process this has not happened. It is then said that violations of the regulation have been dealt with but that it also infringes the right to good governance and the right to an effective remedy as set out in articles 41 and 47 of the Charter. The duration of the procedure is also important in relation to the effectiveness principle. An examination of the duration of the procedure must be conducted to assess whether any violation of such rights has taken place and therefore this course of action is effective. There is a coherence. In addition, the effectiveness principle is not called into question, but here it is the effectiveness in relation to fundamental rights and the violation thereof. There cannot be recourse to the different nature of administrative and judicial procedures, now that the relevant rights are included in various articles in the Charter. It concerns treatment by an impartial body and the Charter has expressed the same procedural principle in article 41, second paragraph, and article 47, that a person can expect a decision within a reasonable period. The right to make a decision within a reasonable time period cannot be violated if any of the steps in that administrative and judicial procedure are not excessively long. However, as more steps are taken, the more important it is to investigate the duration of the overall length of the procedure.
3. Implementation of the Good Governance Principles by the EU Ombudsman (a) The European Code of Good Administrative Behaviour (2001) The Maastricht Treaty established the office of the European Ombudsman to fight maladministration in the activities of Community institutions and bodies. By promoting good administration, the Ombudsman should help enhance relations between
