Judgment_paragraph 77 · Frank Steinhoff and Others v European Central Bank (T-107/17)

77As noted in paragraph 52 above, only a sufficiently serious breach of a rule of law which confers rights on individuals is capable of establishing the non-contractual liability of the ECB. In order to ensure the effectiveness of the condition relating to the breach of a rule of law conferring rights on individuals, the protection offered by the rule invoked must be effective vis-à-vis the person who invokes it and that person must therefore be among those on whom the rule in question confers rights. A rule which does not protect the individual against the unlawfulness invoked by him, but protects another individual, cannot be accepted as a source of compensation (see, to that effect, judgments of 19 October 2005, Cofradía de pescadores ‘San Pedro de Bermeo’ and Others v Council, T‑415/03, EU:T:2005:365, paragraph 96, and of 3 December 2015, CN v Parliament, T‑343/13, EU:T:2015:926, paragraph 86 and the case-law cited).