Judgment_paragraph 93 · China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products and Others v European Commission (C-478/21 P)

93The fact that Article 51(3) does not lay down that obligation does not, however, mean that the General Court need not verify whether the authority concerned is lawful where such authority is challenged. The fact that, at the stage of lodging its action, an applicant does not have to provide that proof does not affect the obligation on that party lawfully to have provided its lawyer with authority to act in order to be able to bring proceedings. The fact that the evidence requirements at the time of lodging an action have been relaxed has no bearing on the substantive condition that the parties must be duly represented by their lawyers. Accordingly, where the lawfulness of an authority granted by a party to its lawyer is challenged, that party must demonstrate that that authority is lawful (see, to that effect, judgment of 16 February 1965, Barge v High Authority, 14/64, EU:C:1965:13, p. 10).