57In that regard, it should be noted at the outset that, as the Court of Justice has observed, the purpose of the duty to provide assistance under Article 24 of the Staff Regulations is to protect officials and other members of staff in active employment both at the present time and in the future in order to enable them to carry out their duties to the best of their ability in the general interest of the service. The Court of Justice therefore concluded that the duty to provide assistance was not laid down for the benefit of active officials and other members of staff alone, but could also be relied on by former officials or other members of staff, in the case under consideration by retired EU civil servants (see, to that effect, judgment of 12 June 1986, Sommerlatte v Commission, 229/84, EU:C:1986:241, paragraph 19).