45It is next appropriate to observe that, as a rule, mere silence on the part of an institution cannot be placed on the same footing as an implied refusal, except where that result is expressly provided for by a provision of Community law. While not excluding that in certain particular circumstances that principle may not be applicable, so that an institution's silence or inaction may exceptionally be considered to constitute an implied refusal, the Court considers that in the circumstances of the present case the Commission's paying of the principal sum only without explicitly taking a position on the request for payment of interest does not amount to an implied decision rejecting that request. Indeed, in this case, such exceptional circumstances have not been invoked and have not arisen.
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