42Since the referring court also makes reference to the right to participate in the procedure, it is necessary to state that such a right, in as much as it makes it possible to exercise the right to be heard, is an integral part of the rights of the defence, the observance of which constitutes a general principle of EU law. The right to be heard guarantees every person the opportunity to make known his or her views usefully and effectively during an administrative procedure and before the adoption of any decision liable to affect his or her interests adversely, including where such a formality is not provided for by the applicable legislation. The purpose of the rule that the addressee of a decision affecting him or her adversely must be placed in a position to submit his or her observations before that decision is adopted is to enable the competent authority effectively to take into account all relevant information (see, to that effect, judgment of 5 November 2014, Mukarubega, C‑166/13, EU:C:2014:2336, paragraphs 44 to 47 and 49).
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