# C_2019357EN.01001001.xml

| 21.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 357/10 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

21.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 357/10

---

Request for a preliminary ruling from the Corte costituzionale (Italy) lodged on 21 June 2019 — DB v Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob)

(Case C-481/19)

(2019/C 357/14)

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Corte costituzionale

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellant on a point of law: DB

Respondent on a point of law: Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob)

Questions referred

| 1. | Are Article 14(3) of Directive 2003/6/EC, (1) in so far as it continues to apply ratione temporis, and Article 30(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (2) to be interpreted as permitting Member States to refrain from penalising individuals who refuse to answer questions put to them by the competent authorities and which might establish their liability for an offence that is punishable by administrative sanctions of a ‘punitive’ nature? |
| --- | --- |

1.

Are Article 14(3) of Directive 2003/6/EC, (1) in so far as it continues to apply ratione temporis, and Article 30(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (2) to be interpreted as permitting Member States to refrain from penalising individuals who refuse to answer questions put to them by the competent authorities and which might establish their liability for an offence that is punishable by administrative sanctions of a ‘punitive’ nature?

| 2. | If the answer to the first question is in the negative, are Article 14(3) of Directive 2003/6/EC, in so far as it continues to apply ratione temporis, and Article 30(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 compatible with Articles 47 and 48 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — including in the light of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights on Article 6 ECHR and the constitutional traditions common to the Member States — in so far as they require sanctions to be applied even to individuals who refuse to answer questions put to them by the competent authorities and which might establish their liability for an offence that is punishable by administrative sanctions of a ‘punitive’ nature? |
| --- | --- |

2.

If the answer to the first question is in the negative, are Article 14(3) of Directive 2003/6/EC, in so far as it continues to apply ratione temporis, and Article 30(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 compatible with Articles 47 and 48 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — including in the light of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights on Article 6 ECHR and the constitutional traditions common to the Member States — in so far as they require sanctions to be applied even to individuals who refuse to answer questions put to them by the competent authorities and which might establish their liability for an offence that is punishable by administrative sanctions of a ‘punitive’ nature?

---

(1)  Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on insider dealing and market manipulation (market abuse) (OJ 2003 L 96, p. 16).

(2)  Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse (market abuse regulation) and repealing Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directives 2003/124/EC, 2003/125/EC and 2004/72/EC (OJ 2014 L 173, p. 1).

---