Judgment_paragraph 41 · European Ombudsman v Claire Staelen (C-337/15 P)

41In order for it to be concluded that there is a sufficiently serious breach of the Ombudsman’s duty to act diligently, it is therefore necessary to establish that, by failing to act with all the requisite care and caution, the Ombudsman gravely and manifestly disregarded the limits on her discretion in the exercise of her powers of investigation. Whilst having regard to that context, account must, to that end, be taken of all aspects characterising the situation concerned, including, in particular, the obviousness of the lack of care shown by the Ombudsman in the conduct of the investigation (see, to that effect, inter alia, judgments of 30 January 1992, Finsider and Others v Commission, C‑363/88 and C‑364/88, EU:C:1992:44, paragraph 22, and of 10 July 2003, Commission v Fresh Marine, C‑472/00 P, EU:C:2003:399, paragraph 31), whether it was excusable or inexcusable (see, to that effect, inter alia, judgments of 30 January 1992, Finsider and Others v Commission, C‑363/88 and C‑364/88, EU:C:1992:44, paragraph 22, and of 4 July 2000, Haim, C‑424/97, EU:C:2000:357, paragraphs 42 and 43), or whether the conclusions drawn from the Ombudsman’s examination were inappropriate and unreasonable (see, to that effect, judgment of 22 October 1991, Nölle, C‑16/90, EU:C:1991:402, paragraph 13).