62However, breach of the ‘reasonable time’ principle justifies annulment of a decision taken at the end of an administrative procedure only in so far as it also entails an infringement of the rights of the defence of the person concerned. Where it has not been established that the undue delay has adversely affected the ability of the persons concerned to defend themselves effectively, failure to comply with the principle that action must be taken within a reasonable time cannot affect the validity of the administrative procedure (see, to that effect, judgment of 8 September 2015, Ministry of Energy of Iran v Council, T‑564/12, EU:T:2015:599, paragraphs 73 to 77; see also, to that effect and by analogy, judgments of 21 September 2006, JCB Service v Commission, C‑167/04 P, EU:C:2006:594, paragraphs 72 and 73, and of 25 June 2010, Imperial Chemical Industries v Commission, T‑66/01, EU:T:2010:255, paragraph 109 and the case-law cited).
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