Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2001:283
Date: 2001-05-17
Language of the case: German
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;External relations;Fruit and vegetables;Commercial policy;Bananas
Procedure: Action for annulment;Appeal - unfounded
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment 
Appeals — Grounds — Plea alleging incorrect appraisal of the facts — Inadmissible — 
Whether the Court of Justice ¡nay review the appraisal of the evidence — Possible only 
where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted 
(Art. 225 EC; EC Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 51) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-442/99 P 
Under Article 225 EC and Article 51 of the 
Statute of the Court of Justice, an appeal 
lies on a point of law only. Therefore, the 
Court of First Instance has sole jurisdiction 
to find and appraise the facts, except in a 
case where the factual inaccuracy of its 
findings is demonstrated by the evidence 
adduced before it. The appraisal of the 
facts does not constitute, save where the 
clear sense of the evidence produced before 
it is distorted, a question of law which is 
subject, as such, to review by the Court of 
Justice in appeal proceedings. 
(see para. 17) 
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