Language of document : ECLI:EU:T:2015:988





Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 16 December 2015 —
British Airways v Commission

(Case T‑48/11)

Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — European airfreight market — Agreements and concerted practices in respect of several elements of the pricing of airfreight services (imposition of fuel and security surcharges, refusal to pay commission on surcharges) — Article 101 TFEU, Article 53 of the EEA Agreement and Article 8 of the Agreement between the European Community and Switzerland on Air Transport — Obligation to state reasons

1.                     Actions for annulment — Grounds — Infringement of essential procedural requirements — Lack of or inadequate statement of reasons — To be considered of the Court’s own motion (Arts 263 TFEU and 296 TFEU) (see para. 29)

2.                     Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision to apply competition rules — Decision of the Commission finding an infringement and imposing a fine — Requirements arising from the principle of effective judicial protection — Clarity and precision of the operative part of the decision (Arts 101(1) TFEU and 296 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; EC-Switzerland Agreement on Air Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Arts 2 and 23(5)) (see paras 32-36)

3.                     Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission decision finding an infringement — Identification of the offences subject to sanction — Identification of the persons forming the subject-matter of a decision — Priority of the operative part over the statement of reasons (Arts 101(1) TFEU and 296 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; EC-Switzerland Agreement on Air Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 2) (see para. 37)

4.                     Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Prohibition — Direct effect — Right of individuals to claim compensation for damage suffered — Procedures for exercising — Infringements forming the subject-matter of a decision of the Commission — Binding nature of the decision on national courts s — Scope — Importance of the clarity and precision of the operative part of the decision (Arts 101(1) TFEU and 296 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; EC-Switzerland Agreement on Air Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Arts 2 and 16(1)) (see paras 38-44)

5.                     Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Agreements and concerted practices constituting a single infringement — Undertakings that may be held responsible for participating in an overall cartel — Criteria — Single objective and overall plan (Art. 101(1) TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; EC-Switzerland Agreement on Air Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 2) (see paras 58, 63)

6.                     Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision to apply competition rules — Decision of the Commission finding an infringement and imposing a fine — Internal contradictions in the decision — Consequences — Annulment — Conditions — Defence rights of the penalised undertaking affected — Impossibility of the EU judicature exercising its review (Arts 101(1) TFEU and 296 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; EC-Switzerland Agreement on Air Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 2) (see paras 61, 77-79, 85, 86)

7.                     Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision to apply competition rules — Correction of an error of reasoning during the proceedings before the Court — Not permissible (Arts 101(1) TFEU and 296 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; EC-Switzerland Agreement on Air Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 2) (see paras 83, 84)

8.                     Actions for annulment — Competence of the EU judicature — Scope — Prohibition on ruling ultra petita (Art. 263 TFEU) (see para. 88)

9.                     Judicial proceedings — Application initiating proceedings — Determination of the subject-matter of the dispute — Modification of the initial pleas in the course of proceedings — Conditions (Art. 263 TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the General Court (1991), Arts 44(2), and 48(2)) (see paras 90, 91)

Re:

APPLICATION for partial annulment of Commission Decision C(2010) 7694 final of 9 November 2010 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 TFEU, Article 53 of the EEA Agreement and Article 8 of the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on Air Transport (Case COMP/39258 — Airfreight), in so far as it concerns the applicant.

Operative part

The Court:

1.

Annuls Commission Decision C(2010) 7694 final of 9 November 2010 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 TFEU, Article 53 of the EEA Agreement and Article 8 of the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on Air Transport (Case COMP/39258 — Airfreight), in so far as, in that decision, the European Commission, first, considered that British Airways plc (i) participated in the refusal to pay commission, (ii) infringed Article 101 TFEU, Article 53 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) and Article 8 of the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on Air Transport between 22 January 2001 and 1 October 2001, and (iii) participated in infringements of those provisions for freight services performed from Hong Kong (China), Japan, India, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Brazil, and, secondly, imposed a fine on it;

2.

Orders the Commission to bear its own costs and to pay those of British Airways.