41An integral part of respect for the rights of the defence is the right to be heard, which guarantees every person the opportunity to make known his view effectively during an administrative procedure and before the adoption of any decision liable to affect his interests adversely. In accordance with the Court’s case-law, the purpose of the rule that the addressee of an adverse decision must be placed in a position to submit his observations before that decision is taken is to put the competent authority in a position effectively to take all relevant information into account. In order to ensure that the person concerned is in fact protected, the purpose of that rule is, inter alia, to enable that person to correct an error or submit such information relating to his or her personal circumstances as will argue in favour of the adoption or non-adoption of the decision, or in favour of its having a specific content (judgment of 5 November 2014, Mukarubega, C‑166/13, EU:C:2014:2336, paragraphs 46 and 47 and the case-law cited).
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