Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 1 July 2008 - Compagnie maritime belge v Commission
(Competition - Abuse of collective dominant position - Shipping conference - Decision imposing a fine on the basis of an earlier decision annulled in part by the Court of Justice - Regulation (EEC) No 2988/74 - Reasonable time-limit - Rights of the defence - Legal certainty - Force of res judicata)
Language of the case: French
Parties
Applicant: Compagnie maritime belge SA (Antwerp, Belgium) (represented by: D. Waelbroeck, lawyer)
Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (represented initially by É. Gippini Fournier, P. Hellström and F. Amato, then by É. Gippini Fournier, Agents)
Re:
Action for annulment of Commission Decision 2005/480/EC of 30 April 2004 relating to a proceeding under Article 82 EC (Cases COMP/D2/32.448 and 32.450) (summarised in OJ 2005 L 171, p. 28), imposing a fine on the applicant for alleged abuses of a collective dominant position engaged in by the Cewal conference and, in the alternative, the reduction of that fine.
Operative part of the judgment
The Court hereby:
Dismisses the action;
Orders Compagnie maritime belge SA to pay two-thirds of its own costs and two-thirds of the costs incurred by the Commission, and orders the Commission to pay one-third of its own costs and one-third of the costs incurred by Compagnie maritime belge.
____________1 - OJ C 262, 23.10.2004.