Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 8 May 2014 — Bolloré v Commission

(Case C‑414/12 P)

‛Appeal — Competition — Cartels — Market in carbonless paper — Attributability of liability to the parent company for the infringement committed by its subsidiary — Direct participation of the parent company in the infringement — Equal treatment — Duration of the administrative procedure and legal proceedings — Reasonable period of time — Rights of the defence’

1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Observance of the rights of the defence — Excessive duration of the administrative procedure — Disappearance of the evidence relevant for the rights of defence to be exercised — Burden of proof — Obligations incumbent on a diligent undertaking (Council Regulation No 1/2003) (see paras 63, 64, 73)

2. Appeals — Grounds — Review by the Court of the assessment of the facts and evidence — Possible only where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted (Art. 256(1) TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.) (see para. 78)

3. Competition — Administrative procedure — Obligations of the Commission — Duty to act within a reasonable time — Annulment of the decision finding an infringement by reason of excessive duration of the procedure — Condition — Adverse effect on the rights of defence of the undertakings concerned (Council Regulation No 1/2003) (see paras 84, 85)

4. Appeals — Grounds — Plea against a ground of the judgment not necessary to support the operative part — Invalid plea in law (see para. 99)

5. Judicial proceedings — Duration of the proceedings before the General Court — Reasonable time — Proceedings concerning an infringement of the competition rules — Failure to act within a reasonable time — Consequences (Arts 101 TFEU and 102 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47, second para.) (see paras 105-107)

Re:

Appeal brought against the judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 27 June 2012 in Case T‑372/10 Bolloré v Commission, by which the General Court dismissed an action for annulment or amendment of Commission Decision C (2010) 4160 final of 23 June 2010 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/36.212 — Carbonless paper) — Decision taken following annulment of a first decision — Attribution of liability for the infringement to the parent company as direct perpetrator — Fine — Lawfulness of infringements and penalties — Equal treatment — Reasonable period of time — Rights of the defence.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the appeal;

2. Orders Bolloré to pay the costs of the present appeal.

Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 8 May 2014 — Bolloré v Commission

(Case C‑414/12 P)

‛Appeal — Competition — Cartels — Market in carbonless paper — Attributability of liability to the parent company for the infringement committed by its subsidiary — Direct participation of the parent company in the infringement — Equal treatment — Duration of the administrative procedure and legal proceedings — Reasonable period of time — Rights of the defence’

1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Observance of the rights of the defence — Excessive duration of the administrative procedure — Disappearance of the evidence relevant for the rights of defence to be exercised — Burden of proof — Obligations incumbent on a diligent undertaking (Council Regulation No 1/2003) (see paras 63, 64, 73)

2. Appeals — Grounds — Review by the Court of the assessment of the facts and evidence — Possible only where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted (Art. 256(1) TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.) (see para. 78)

3. Competition — Administrative procedure — Obligations of the Commission — Duty to act within a reasonable time — Annulment of the decision finding an infringement by reason of excessive duration of the procedure — Condition — Adverse effect on the rights of defence of the undertakings concerned (Council Regulation No 1/2003) (see paras 84, 85)

4. Appeals — Grounds — Plea against a ground of the judgment not necessary to support the operative part — Invalid plea in law (see para. 99)

5. Judicial proceedings — Duration of the proceedings before the General Court — Reasonable time — Proceedings concerning an infringement of the competition rules — Failure to act within a reasonable time — Consequences (Arts 101 TFEU and 102 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47, second para.) (see paras 105-107)

Re:

Appeal brought against the judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 27 June 2012 in Case T‑372/10 Bolloré v Commission, by which the General Court dismissed an action for annulment or amendment of Commission Decision C (2010) 4160 final of 23 June 2010 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/36.212 — Carbonless paper) — Decision taken following annulment of a first decision — Attribution of liability for the infringement to the parent company as direct perpetrator — Fine — Lawfulness of infringements and penalties — Equal treatment — Reasonable period of time — Rights of the defence.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the appeal;