62022CO0198_INF
Order of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 6 March 2023 –Deutsche Bank (Cartel – Euro interest rate derivatives)
(Joined Cases C‑198/22 and C‑199/22)
(References for a preliminary ruling – Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court – Article 101 TFEU – Directive 2014/104/EU – Article 10 – Scope ratione temporis – Actions for damages for infringements of EU competition law provisions – Limitation period – Infringement committed before the entry into force of the directive – Consumer protection)
1.
Competition – Actions for compensation for the harm caused by infringements of competition rules – Directive 2014/104 – Infringement which ceased before the entry into force of the directive – Limitation period for the action for compensation – Determination of the point at which time begins to run – Applicability of national law – Limits – Compliance with the principle of effectiveness – Limitation period being able to begin to run only after the infringement has ceased and the injured party knows the information necessary to bring the action – Injured party’s status as a consumer – Irrelevant
(Art. 101 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Directive 2014/104)
(see paragraphs 33-52, operative part 1)
2.
Competition – Actions for compensation for the harm caused by infringements of competition rules – Directive 2014/104 – Temporal application – Substantive provisions – Prohibition of retroactive application of national transposing legislation – Non-substantive provisions – Prohibition of application of national transposing legislation to actions brought before 26 December 2014
(European Parliament and Council Directive 2014/104, Art. 22)
(see paragraphs 58-61)
3.
Competition – Actions for compensation for the harm caused by infringements of competition rules – Directive 2014/104 – Temporal application – Provision providing for a limitation period for actions for compensation of at least five years – Substantive provision – Prohibition of retroactive application of national transposing legislation
(European Parliament and Council Directive 2014/104, Arts 10 and 22)
(see paragraphs 63-69, 72, operative part 2)
4.
Acts of the institutions – Directives – Implementation by Member States – Need to ensure that directives are effective – Obligations of national courts – Obligation of conforming interpretation – Scope – Interpretation of national law contra legem – Precluded
(Art. 4(3) TEU; Art. 288 TFEU)
(see paragraph 71)
Operative part
1.
Article 101 TFEU and the principle of effectiveness must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, as interpreted by the national court, according to which the limitation period for bringing an action for damages for an infringement of EU competition law provisions by a consumer begins to run on the date of publication in the Official Journal of the European Union of the summary of the European Commission’s final decision by which that infringement has been found, since the elements necessary to enable the injured party to bring an action for damages on the date of that publication can reasonably be considered to have been known to him or her.
2.
Article 10(3) of Directive 2014/104/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2014 on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union must be interpreted as meaning that an action for damages for an infringement of competition law that, although relating to an infringement that ceased before the entry into force of that directive, was brought after the entry into force of the provisions transposing it into national law falls within its temporal scope, in so far as the limitation period applicable to that action did not expire before the time limit for transposition of that directive.