Judgment_paragraph 35 · European Parliament v Ignacio Samper (C-277/01 P)

35It must be pointed out that, in assessing the interests of the service and the qualifications and merits of the candidates to be taken into consideration in making a promotion decision pursuant to Article 45 of the Staff Regulations, the appointing authority possesses a wide discretion, and in that connection the Community Court's review must be confined to the question whether, having regard to the various considerations which have influenced the administration in making its assessment, the latter has remained within reasonable bounds and has not used its power in a manifestly incorrect way. The Community Court cannot therefore substitute its assessment of the qualifications and merits of the candidates for that of the appointing authority (see Case 324/85 Bouteiller v Commission [1987] ECR 529, paragraph 6).