Judgment_paragraph 59 · RV v European Commission (T-167/17)

59In that regard, it has consistently been held that while the Court must adjudicate only on the application of the parties, who must define the scope of the dispute, it cannot be bound solely by the arguments which they put forward in support of their claims, as otherwise it would, should the case arise, be compelled to base its decisions on legally flawed considerations (see judgment of 8 July 2010, Commission v Putterie-De-Beukelaer, T‑160/08 P, EU:T:2010:294, paragraph 65 and the case-law cited). It follows that the Court is required, in the present case, to examine whether Article 42c of the Staff Regulations may be applied to an official who, like the applicant, has already reached ‘pensionable age’ within the meaning of the fifth subparagraph of Article 22(1) of Annex XIII to the Staff Regulations and, in that sense, to examine the scope of that provision, in so far as that examination constitutes a prerequisite for the examination of certain arguments put forward by the applicant (see, to that effect, judgment of 8 July 2010, Commission v Putterie-De-Beukelaer, T‑160/08 P, EU:T:2010:294, paragraph 66).