Judgment_paragraph 40 · Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophone and Others v Conseil des ministres (C-543/14)

40According to settled case-law, the principle of equality of arms, which is a corollary of the very concept of a fair trial and aims to ensure a balance between the parties to the proceedings, implies that each party must be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present his case, including his evidence, under conditions that do not place him at a substantial disadvantage vis-à-vis his opponent (see, to that effect, judgments of 6 November 2012 in Otis and Others, C‑199/11, EU:C:2012:684, paragraphs 71 and 72, and 12 November 2014 in Guardian Industries and Guardian Europe v Commission, C‑580/12 P, EU:C:2014:2363, point 31; order of 16 July 2015 in Sánchez Morcillo and Abril García, C‑539/14, EU:C:2015:508, paragraph 48).