The Court of Justice of the European Union confirms that the procedural time-limits within which an appeal may be lodged must be effective and fully guarantee the right of access to justice. In the present case, that European requirement was held not to have been met when the last day of the three-day period, which began to run on 24 December, was 26 December, a public holiday, with the result that the period expired at the end of the first following working day, namely 27 December.
The principles of the European Union, seen in the light of the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights, preclude a short time limit of three days for the exercise of legal remedies, which overlaps with public holidays, as it may adversely affect the effective exercise of the rights that Member States should guarantee.
Thus, the circumstances of the case led to the conclusion that it would have been impossible for the holder of the right of appeal to act upon such right, since it would not have been feasible to prepare a real defence with all that it entails, including the employment of interpreters or the preparation of evidence, within such a short period of time.
