The Luxembourg-based General Court ruled that the European Council committed a manifest error of assessment and failed to discharge the burden of proof which rests on it, so a number of documents justifying Sharif University of Technology’s listing were sent to it only after the expiry of the period allowed for bringing proceedings.
Further, the General Court found that the documents sent by the Council contained no information or material which added anything to the content of the contested acts.
Meanwhile the court suspended the effects of the annulment for a period of two months in order to allow the Council the opportunity to correct the irregularities identified.
The European Union had sanctioned the prestigious university for accusations over the university’s role in helping promote Iran’s nuclear activities which West claimed aimed at reaching weapons of mass destruction (WoMDs).
Iran has times and again rejected such allegations and reiterated that its nuclear activities are and always will be peaceful.
Sharif University of Technology is Iran’s foremost higher education institute in the field of science and technology. As a civilian school, it attracts the best and the brightest, alongside other schools such as the University of Tehran. Some of its top graduates are now teaching in prestigious universities across the globe, including Europe and the United States.