ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
4

Article 7(1) to (4) of that directive provides: ‘1. Member States shall not grant or maintain in force exclusive or special rights for the establishment and provision of postal services. Member States may finance the provision of universal services in accordance with one or more of the means provided for in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, or in accordance with any other means compatible with the Treaty. 2. Member States may ensure the provision of universal services by procuring such services in accordance with applicable public procurement rules and regulations, including, as provided for in Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts [(OJ 2004 L 134, p. 114)], competitive dialogue or negotiated procedures with or without publication of a contract notice. 3. Where a Member State determines that the universal service obligations, as provided for in this Directive, entail a net cost, calculated taking into account Annex I, and represent an unfair financial burden on the universal service provider(s), it may introduce: (a) a mechanism to compensate the undertaking(s) concerned from public funds; or (b) a mechanism for the sharing of the net cost of the universal service obligations between providers of services and/or users. 4. Where the net cost is shared in accordance with paragraph 3(b), Member States may establish a compensation fund which may be funded by service providers and/or users’ fees, and is administered for this purpose by a body independent of the beneficiary or beneficiaries. Member States may make the granting of authorisations to service providers under Article 9(2) subject to an obligation to make a financial contribution to that fund or to comply with universal service obligations. The universal service obligations of the universal service provider(s) set out in Article 3 may be financed in this manner.’
5

Article 8 of the Framework Directive, entitled ‘Policy objectives and regulatory principles’, provides: ‘1. Member States shall ensure that, in carrying out the regulatory tasks specified in this Directive and the Specific Directives, the national regulatory authorities take all reasonable measures which are aimed at achieving the objectives set out in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4. Such measures shall be proportionate to those objectives. Unless otherwise provided for in Article 9 regarding radio frequencies, Member States shall take the utmost account of the desirability of making regulations technologically neutral and shall ensure that, in carrying out the regulatory tasks specified in this Directive and the Specific Directives, in particular those designed to ensure effective competition, national regulatory authorities do likewise. … 2. The national regulatory authorities shall promote competition in the provision of electronic communications networks, electronic communications services and associated facilities and services by inter alia: … (b) ensuring that there is no distortion or restriction of competition in the electronic communications sector, including the transmission of content; … 4. The national regulatory authorities shall promote the interests of the citizens of the European Union by inter alia: … (b) ensuring a high level of protection for consumers in their dealings with suppliers, in particular by ensuring the availability of simple and inexpensive dispute resolution procedures carried out by a body that is independent of the parties involved; (c) contributing to ensuring a high level of protection of personal data and privacy; …’
4

Article 30 of that code provides: ‘1. Where the customs value cannot be determined under Article 29, it is to be determined by proceeding sequentially through subparagraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 2 to the first subparagraph under which it can be determined, subject to the proviso that the order of application of subparagraphs (c) and (d) shall be reversed if the declarant so requests; it is only when such value cannot be determined under a particular subparagraph that the provisions of the next subparagraph in a sequence established by virtue of this paragraph can be applied. 2. The customs value as determined under this Article shall be: (a) the transaction value of identical goods sold for export to the Community and exported at or about the same time as the goods being valued; (b) the transaction value of similar goods sold for export to the Community and exported at or about the same time as the goods being valued; (c) the value based on the unit price at which the imported goods [or] identical or similar imported goods are sold within the Community in the greatest aggregate quantity to persons not related to the sellers; (d) the computed value, consisting of the sum of: – the cost or value of materials and fabrication or other processing employed in producing the imported goods, – an amount for profit and general expenses equal to that usually reflected in sales of goods of the same class or kind as the goods being valued which are made by producers in the country of exportation for export to the Community, – the cost or value of the items referred to in Article 32(1)(e). …’
17

Article 285 of the Labour Code states: ‘1. In the event of a transfer, by whatever means, of ownership of an undertaking or business or part of an undertaking or business which is an economic entity, the rights and obligations of the employer under the employment contracts of the employees concerned shall be transferred to the transferee, together with the liability to pay any fines imposed in respect of employment law infringements. 2. The transferor shall be jointly and severally liable in respect of obligations falling due up to the date of the transfer for a period of one year following that transfer. 3. The provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall also apply to the transfer, assignment or resumption of control of the operation of an undertaking, business or economic entity and, in the event of assignment or resumption of control of the operation, the party carrying out that operation immediately before the assignment or resumption shall be jointly and severally liable. 4. The preceding paragraphs shall not apply to an employee who, before the transfer, has been transferred by the transferor to another business or economic unit, within the meaning of Article 194, while being retained in the transferor’s service, with the exception of matters concerning the liability of the transferee regarding payment of any fines imposed in respect of employment law infringements. 5. An organised grouping of resources which has the objective of pursuing an economic activity shall be considered to be an economic unit, whether that activity is central or ancillary. 6. A breach of the rules laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article, and of the first part of paragraph 3 thereof, shall constitute a very serious infringement.’
13

The Ministerial Directive of the Directorate-General for Taxation of 25 June 2003 entitled ‘VAT. Reduced rate of 5.5% applicable to works of art. Situation of art photographs.’, published in the Bulletin officiel des impôts No 115 of 2 July 2003, as applicable at the time of the material facts of the case in the main proceedings (‘the Ministerial Directive of 25 June 2003’), was intended to provide clarification regarding the conditions for applying the reduced rate of VAT laid down in Article 278(f) of the CGI in respect of art photographs. The Ministerial Directive provided: ‘… I. Criteria for art photographs: 1. Only photographs demonstrating clear creative intent on the part of their creator may be regarded as works of art eligible for the reduced rate of VAT. That is the case where, through subject choice, setting, features of the shot or any other distinctive characteristic of the photographer’s work, such as framing quality, composition, exposure, lighting, contrast, colours and relief, play of light and volume, lens and film selection or the specific conditions in which the negative is processed, he produces a work which goes beyond the simple mechanical fixation of the memory of an event, trip or people and which is thus of interest to any audience. II. Conditions for application 1. In the light of the above, identity photographs, school photographs and group photographs are not eligible for the reduced rate. 2. Photographs where interest depends primarily on the status of the individual or the nature of the object shown are not, in general, regarded as art photographs. That is the case, for example, with photographs depicting family or religious events (weddings, communions etc.). 3. That being said, for photographs of any kind other than those mentioned in II-1, the creative intent of the creator as evidenced by the criteria already set out and the interest to any audience may be reinforced by the following indicators: (a) The photographer proves that his works have been exhibited in cultural institutions (regional, national or international), museological institutions (museums, temporary or permanent exhibitions) or commercial institutions (trade fairs, shows, galleries etc.) or that they have been presented in specialist publications. … (b) The use of specific equipment for both taking and developing the photograph. …’
5

Article 8 of that regulation, entitled ‘Relative grounds for refusal’, was worded as follows: ‘1. Upon opposition by the proprietor of an earlier trade mark, the trade mark applied for shall not be registered: (a) if it is identical with the earlier trade mark and the goods or services for which registration is applied for are identical with the goods or services for which the earlier trade mark is protected; (b) if because of its identity with, or similarity to, the earlier trade mark and the identity or similarity of the goods or services covered by the trade marks there exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public in the territory in which the earlier trade mark is protected; the likelihood of confusion includes the likelihood of association with the earlier trade mark. 2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, “earlier trade marks” means: (a) trade marks of the following kinds with a date of application for registration which is earlier than the date of application for registration of the [European Union] trade mark, taking account, where appropriate, of the priorities claimed in respect of those trade marks: (i) [European Union] trade marks; (ii) trade marks registered in a Member State …; (iii) trade marks registered under international arrangements which have effect in a Member State; (iv) trade marks registered under international arrangements which have effect in the [European Union]; … 5. Furthermore, upon opposition by the proprietor of an earlier trade mark within the meaning of paragraph 2, the trade mark applied for shall not be registered where it is identical with, or similar to, the earlier trade mark and is to be registered for goods or services which are not similar to those for which the earlier trade mark is registered, where, in the case of an earlier [European Union] trade mark, the trade mark has a reputation in the [European Union] and, in the case of an earlier national trade mark, the trade mark has a reputation in the Member State concerned and where the use without due cause of the trade mark applied for would take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to, the distinctive character or the repute of the earlier trade mark.’
4

Under the heading ‘Certain consumer contracts’, Article 5 of the Rome Convention provides: ‘1. This Article applies to a contract the object of which is the supply of goods or services to a person (“the consumer”) for a purpose which can be regarded as being outside his trade or profession, or a contract for the provision of credit for that object. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 3, a choice of law made by the parties shall not have the result of depriving the consumer of the protection afforded to him by the mandatory rules of the law of the country in which he has his habitual residence: – if in that country the conclusion of the contract was preceded by a specific invitation addressed to him or by advertising, and he had taken in that country all the steps necessary on his part for the conclusion of the contract, or – if the other party or his agent received the consumer’s order in that country, or – if the contract is for the sale of goods and the consumer travelled from that country to another country and there gave his order, provided that the consumer’s journey was arranged by the seller for the purpose of inducing the consumer to buy. 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 4, a contract to which this Article applies shall, in the absence of choice in accordance with Article 3, be governed by the law of the country in which the consumer has his habitual residence if it is entered into in the circumstances described in paragraph 2 of this Article. 4. This Article shall not apply to: … (b) a contract for the supply of services where the services are to be supplied to the consumer exclusively in a country other than that in which he has his habitual residence. …’
21

Paragraph I.4 of the loan agreement, the contents of which also appear in that notarised instrument, is worded as follows: ‘For the purposes of settling any dispute concerning the settlement of accounts or satisfying a claim by the Bank, in order to determine the amount of the loan or of any other debt outstanding at a given moment under this document, to determine the effective disbursement date and the date when a payment obligation falls due, or to determine any other fact or information required for the purposes of direct judicial enforcement, the Parties declare themselves bound to accept a probative document recorded in a notarial act and drawn up in accordance with the Debtor’s accounts at the Bank and with the Bank’s records and books of account as irrefutable and reliable proof. Accordingly, in the event of default in payment of the principal or of interest and costs, or in the event of payment not reflecting the terms of the agreement, in addition to this document, the probative document recorded in a notarial instrument and drawn up in accordance with the Debtor’s accounts at the Bank and with the Bank’s records and books of account shall serve as proof of the loan and of the interest and costs outstanding at a given moment which provide the grounds for enforcement, and of the facts mentioned above, and, by signing this agreement, the Parties agree to be bound to accept the said probative document. If enforcement proceedings are commenced by the Bank, the Parties or the Debtor shall ask the notary who certified this document, or any other competent notary, to issue a notarial act drawn up in accordance with the Debtor’s accounts at the Bank and with the Bank’s records and books of account, having first examined the records, stating the amount of the loan and of the outstanding interest and costs or any other related debt arising from the abovementioned loan and the abovementioned facts and information, and they shall authorise banking confidentiality to be lifted in respect of the information in question.’
6

Article 7(2) to (4) of the same regulation provides: ‘2. Each competent authority shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, at least 1 year before the launch of the invitation to tender procedure or 1 year before the direct award, the following information at least is published in the Official Journal of the European Union: (a) the name and address of the competent authority; (b) the type of award envisaged; (c) the services and areas potentially covered by the award. Competent authorities may decide not to publish this information where a public service contract concerns an annual provision of less than 50000 kilometres of public passenger transport services. Should this information change after its publication, the competent authority shall publish a rectification accordingly as soon as possible. This rectification shall be without prejudice to the launching date of the direct award or of the invitation to tender. This paragraph shall not apply to Article 5(5). 3. In the case of a direct award of public service contracts for transport by rail, as provided for in Article 5(6), the competent authority shall make public the following information within 1 year of granting the award: (a) name of the contracting entity, its ownership and, if appropriate, the name of the party or parties exercising legal control; (b) duration of the public service contract; (c) description of the passenger transport services to be performed; (d) description of the parameters of the financial compensation; (e) quality targets, such as punctuality and reliability and rewards and penalties applicable; (f) conditions relating to essential assets. 4. When so requested by an interested party, a competent authority shall forward to it the reasons for its decision for directly awarding a public service contract.’
9

Article 5 of Law No 667/2001 as amended provided: ‘1. Any personal data processing, except for the processing which refers to the categories mentioned in Article 7(1) and Articles 8 and 10, may be carried out only if the data subject has given his or her express and unequivocal consent for that processing. 2. The data subject’s consent is not required in the following situations: (a) when the processing is required in order to carry out a contract or an agreement previous to that contract to which the data subject is a party, or in order to adopt measures, at his or her request, before the signing of the contract or previous agreement; (b) when the processing is required in order to protect the data subject’s life, physical integrity or health or those of a threatened third party; (c) when the processing is required in order to fulfil a legal obligation of the data controller; (d) when the processing is required in order to accomplish a measure of public interest or concerning the exercise of public powers of the data controller or the third party to whom the data are disclosed; (e) when the processing is necessary in order to accomplish a legitimate interest of the data controller or of the third party to whom the data are disclosed, on the condition that that interest does not adversely affect the interests or the fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject; (f) when the processing concerns data which is obtained from publicly accessible documents, according to the law; (g) when the processing is performed exclusively for statistical purposes, historical or scientific research and the data remain anonymous throughout the entire processing. 3. The provisions of paragraph 2 are without prejudice to the legal texts governing the obligations of public authorities to respect and protect personal, family and private life.’
18

UB brought an appeal against that judgment before the referring court, the Cour de cassation (Court of Cassation, France). VA and Tiger brought a cross-appeal against that same judgment, as did WZ, in his capacity as UB’s trustee in bankruptcy. In support of their appeals, UB, VA and Tiger submit that, under Article 3(1) of Regulation No 1346/2000, the courts of the Member State within the territory of which the centre of a debtor’s main interests is situated have jurisdiction to open insolvency proceedings. They also argue that the Court of Justice ruled, in the judgments of 12 February 2009, Seagon (C‑339/07, EU:C:2009:83), and of 16 January 2014, Schmid (C‑328/12, EU:C:2014:6), that that provision must be interpreted as meaning that the courts of the Member State within the territory of which insolvency proceedings have been opened have jurisdiction to decide an action to set a transaction aside by virtue of the debtor’s insolvency. UB, VA and Tiger consider that, in the present case, only the courts of the United Kingdom have jurisdiction to rule on the action for a declaration that the sales and mortgages at issue are ineffective, since the insolvency proceedings against UB were opened in the United Kingdom. Consequently, by failing to raise, of its own motion, its lack of jurisdiction, the cour d’appel de Paris (the Court of Appeal, Paris) infringed, in particular, Article 3(1) of Regulation No 1346/2000.
48

In that regard, according to the settled case-law of the Court of Justice, the national court is required, under the principle that national law must be interpreted in conformity with EU law, to the greatest extent possible, to interpret national law in conformity with the requirements of EU law and to thus ensure, within the limits of its jurisdiction, the full effectiveness of EU law when it determines the dispute before it. That principle requires the national court to consider national law as a whole in order to assess to what extent it may be applied so as not to produce a result contrary to that sought by EU law (see, to that effect, judgments of 19 December 2013, Koushkaki, C‑84/12, EU:C:2013:862, paragraphs 75 and 76, and of 24 June 2019, Popławski, C‑573/17, EU:C:2019:530, paragraph 55). It appears, in the light of the factors indicated in the previous paragraph and subject to verification by the referring court, that an interpretation of national law in conformity with the requirements of Directives 2004/48 and 2009/34 is possible in the present case.
34

That difference in wording between Article 15, point 5, and the other paragraphs of that article of Regulation No 1215/2012 is explained by the origins of that article. As is apparent from paragraph 140 of the report by Mr P. Schlosser on the Convention on the Accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters and the Protocol on its interpretation by the Court of Justice (OJ 1979 C 59, p. 71), with a view to supplementing the latter convention at the time of the United Kingdom’s accession in 1978 without having to define an abstract and general criterion for delimiting the situations in which clauses conferring jurisdiction would be admissible, it was decided to draw up a list of insurance contracts to which the admissibility of such clauses should be extended. However, as is apparent from that paragraph of that report, such an addition was in no way intended to make such jurisdiction clauses enforceable against third parties.