Judgment of the Court of First Instance (Second Chamber) of 12 September 2007 – Commission v Internet Commerce Network and Dane-Elec Memory

(Case T-184/06)

Arbitration clause – Contract concluded in the framework of a special programme in the field of information society technologies (Crossmarc project) – Non-performance of the contract – Repayment of the advance paid by the Community – At-first-demand guarantee of the contractual obligations – Default procedure

Procedure – Referral to the Court of First Instance under an arbitration clause (see paras 25-29, 31-36)

Re:

ACTION, based on an arbitration clause, for an order that the defendants repay the amount of the advance paid by the Community, and interest for late payment, following the non-performance of Contract No 2000-25366 concluded in the framework of a special programme for research, technological development and demonstration in the field of information society technologies (IST) (1998-2002) concerning the Crossmarc project (Cross-lingual Multi Agent Retail Comparison).

Operative part

The Court:

1. Orders Dane-Elec Memory to pay to the Commission of the European Communities the principal sum of EUR 55 878 with interest thereon:

–        at the annual rate of 4.75% from 16 March 2004 to 31 December 2005;

–        at the annual rate of 5% from 1 January to 31 December 2006;

–        at the annual rate of 5.25% from 1 January 2007 until the debt is paid in full;

2. Decides that there is no need to adjudicate on the claim against Internet Commerce Network;

3. Orders Dane-Elec Memory to bear its own costs and pay those incurred by the Commission;

4. Orders Internet Commerce Network to bear its own costs.