Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:1998:181
Date: 1998-04-30
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Sixth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Competition;Agreements, decisions and concerted practices;Exclusive agreements
Concepts: Jurisdiction of the Court of Justice;Networks in the motor vehicle sector
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: France

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Preliminary rulings — Jurisdiction of the Court — Limits — Obviously irrelevant question 
(EC Treaty, Art. 177) 
2. Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Prohibited — Block exemp­
tion — Regulation No 123/85 — Exclusive dealership agreement — Clause which does not 
specify the objectively valid reasons for which the parties may be released from the obligation 
not to compete — Covered by the exemption 
(Commission Regulation No 123/85, Art. 5(2)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-230/96 
3. Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Prohibited — Block exemp­
tion — Regulation No 123/8} — Regulation No 1475/95 — Obligation imposed on dealers 
not to sell new vehicles of other makes, even at commercial premises other than those at 
which the contract goods are offered for sale, except where objectively valid reasons have been 
demonstrated — Not covered by the exemption 
(Commission Regulations No 123/85, Arts 3(3) and 5(2), and No 1475/95, Arts 3(3) and 5(2)) 
4. Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Prohibited — Block exemp­
tion — Regulation No 123/85 — Regulation No 1475/95 — Determination of a sales target 
— Covered by the exemption — Conditions 
(Commission Regulations No 123/85, Arts 4(1)(3) and 5(2), and No 1475/95, Arts 4(1)(3) and 
5(2) and (3)) 
5. Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Prohibited — Car dealership 
agreements not covered by the block exemption — Assessment in the light of the economic 
and legal context 
(EC Treaty, Art. 85(1); Commission Regulations No 123/85 and No 1475/95) 
1. Under the preliminary ruling procedure 
provided for by Article 177 of the Treaty, 
it is for the national courts alone, before 
which the proceedings are pending and 
which must assume responsibility for the 
judgment to be given, to determine, hav­
ing regard to the particular features of 
each case, both the need for a preliminary 
ruling to enable them to give judgment 
and the relevance of the questions which 
they refer to the Court. A request for a 
preliminary ruling from a national court 
may be rejected only if it is quite obvious 
that the interpretation of Community law 
sought by that court bears no relation to 
the actual nature of the case or the 
subject-matter of the main action. 
2. On a proper construction, in the light of 
its wording and general structure, of 
Article 5(2)(1)(a) and (b) of Regula­
tion N o 123/85 on the application of 
Article 85(3) of the Treaty to certain 
categories of vehicle distribution and sales 
and after-sales service agreements, the 
exemption granted by the regulation 
applies to a clause in an exclusive dealer­
ship agreement which does no more than 
provide that the parties may, in order to 
release themselves from the obligation 
not to compete, put forward objectively 
valid reasons, without indicating specifi­
cally what those reasons may be. 
3. On a proper construction, in the light of 
their wording and general structure, of 
Articles 3(3) and 5(2) of Regulation N o 
123/85, on the application of Article 85(3) 
of the Treaty to certain categories of 
vehicle distribution and sales and after-
sales service agreements, and also the 
same articles of Regulation N o 1475/95, 
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CABOUR AND NORD DISTRIBUTION AUTOMOBILE v ARNOR 
replacing Regulation N o 123/85, the 
exemption granted by the regulation does 
not apply to a clause in a contract which, 
unless there are objectively valid reasons, 
prevents the dealer from selling new 
vehicles of any other make, even at com­
mercial premises separate from those at 
which the contract goods are offered for 
sale. 
4. On a proper construction, in the light of 
their wording and general structure, of 
Articles 4(1)(3) and 5(2)(2) and (3) of 
Regulation N o 123/85, on the application 
of Article 85(3) of the Treaty to certain 
categories of vehicle distribution and sales 
and after-sales service agreements, the 
exemption granted by the regulation 
applies to a clause in a contract which 
imposes on a dealer a fixed sales target 
and provides for penalties, extending to 
termination of the contract if the target is 
not met, provided, however, that the sales 
target represents simply an obligation to 
use best endeavours. 
As regards Articles 4(1)(3) and 5(2) and 
(3) of Regulation No 1475/95, replacing 
Regulation N o 123/85, if the exemption is 
to apply, the sales target must be deter­
mined by common agreement between 
the parties or, where they disagree, by an 
expert third party. 
5. The prohibition set out in Article 85(1) of 
the Treaty applies to clauses in a motor 
vehicle dealership contract which are not 
covered by the block exemption if, having 
regard to the economic and legal context, 
their object or effect is perceptibly to 
restrict competition within the common 
market and they are capable of affecting 
trade between Member States. 
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