Notice for the OJ

 

    

Action brought on 17 April 2002 by Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Bielefeld GmbH against the Commission of the European Communities

    (Case T-122/02)

    Language of the case: English

An action against the Commission of the European Communities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities on 17 April 2002 by Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Bielefeld GmbH, represented by Mr Andrzej W.J. Kmiecik and Mr Ivo Van Bael of Van Bael & Bellis, Brussels (Belgium).

The applicant claims that the Court should:

listnum "WP List 1" l 1annul Article 1 of the Decision insofar as it alleges that the applicant was involved in an infringement before 1 January 1993;

listnum "WP List 2" \l 1reduce the amount of the fine imposed on the applicant;

listnum "WP List 3" \l 1order the Commission to bear the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments:

By the present application, the applicant contests part of the Commission Decision of 20 December 2001 in case COMP/E-1/36.212-Carbonless paper, by which the Commission concluded that the applicant infringed Article 81(1) of the Treaty and Article 53(1) of the EEA Agreement by participating in a complex of agreements and concerted practices in the sector of carbonless paper from January 1992 until September 1995, and imposed a fine on the applicant.

According to the applicant, the Commission failed to establish the applicant's participation in an infringement before January 1993. The applicant claims that there is no proof that it participated in 1992 in general cartel meetings nor national or regional cartel meetings. Therefore, the burden of proof is not met and, as a consequence, the fine should be reduced.

The applicant claims further that the fine imposed is disproportionate to its turnover in the relevant market and that the application by the Commission of the Leniency notice¹ applicable at the time violates the principle of legitimate expectation and equal treatment.

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¹ - Commission Notice on the non-imposition or reduction of fines in cartel cases (OJ C 207 , 18/07/1996 p. 4)