A/HRC/4/88 page 13 Organisation des Modjahedines du peuple d’Iran,12 a group which originally was listed as a terrorist organization by the Secretary of State for the Home Department of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 28 March 2001, under the Terrorism Act 2000. The organization brought two unsuccessful actions against this order, including a request for judicial review before the High Court and an appeal to the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (POAC). In 2002, the EU Council adopted Common Position 2002/340/CFSP, with an updated list including the applicant organization. The applicant lodged an application at the Court of First Instance, asking the Court inter alia to annul the relevant Common Position and related decisions, and declare the Common Position and decisions to be inapplicable. 30. CFI considered arguments related to infringements of the right to a fair hearing, to the obligation to state reasons for a listing decision, and to the right to effective legal protection. The Court found that neither the Regulation nor the Common Position provide for notification of the evidence adduced or for a hearing of the parties concerned, either before or together with the initial decision to freeze funds or, in the context of subsequent decisions. The applicant had not been apprised of the specific evidence against it, and was therefore not in a position to make known its views on the matter or avail itself of the right of action before the Court. Neither the written pleadings of the parties nor the file produced before the Court enabled it to determine with certainty, after the close of the oral procedure, the grounds on which the original listing decision was based. The Court concluded that the decision did not contain a sufficient statement of reasons and that the applicant’s right to a fair hearing was not observed. The Court declared that it was not in a position to review the lawfulness of the decision, and annulled the decision insofar as it concerned the applicant. 31. While the decision of the Court of First Instance involved a challenge to an individual sanction process at regional level, the Court’s reasoning illustrates the fundamental importance of due process rights in the context of counter-terrorism, in particular the right to a fair hearing and independent review of individual sanctions against persons suspected of terrorist activity. Improvements to the current United Nations sanctions regime have been made, however, further improvements are necessary in order to ensure a listing process which is transparent, based on clear criteria, and with an appropriate, explicit, and uniformly applied standard of evidence, as well as an effective, accessible and independent mechanism of review for individuals and concerned States. At a minimum, the standards required to ensure fair and clear procedures must include the right of an individual to be informed of the measures taken and to know the case against him or her as soon as, and to the extent possible, without thwarting the purpose of the sanctions regimes; the right of such a person to be heard within a reasonable time by the relevant decision-making body; the right to effective review by a competent, independent review mechanism; the right of such a person to counsel with respect to all proceedings; and the right of such a person to an effective remedy. 12 Organisation des Modjahedines du peuple d’Iran v. Council of the European Union, 12 December 2006.