INFORMATION ON UNPU BLISHED DECISIONS 
Reports of Cases 
Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 1 6 December 2 0 1 5 — 
British Airways v Comm ission 
(Case T-4 8 / 1 1 ) 
(Compe tition — Agreeme nts, decisions and concerted practices — European airfreight market — 
Agreeme nts and concerted practices in respect of several elements of the pricing of airfreight services 
(imposition of fuel and security surcharges, refusal to pay commission on surcharges) — Article 101 
TFEU, Article 53 of the EEA Agreeme nt and Article 8 of the Agreeme nt between the European 
Community and Switzerland on Air Transport — Obligation to state reasons) 
1. Actions for annulment — Grounds — Infringement of essential procedural requirements — Lack of 
or inadequate statement of reasons — To be considered of the Court’s own motion (Arts 263 TFEU 
and 296 TFEU) (see para. 29) 
2. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision to apply 
competition rules — Decision of the Comm ission finding an infringement and imposing a fine — 
Requirements arising from the principle of effective judicial protection — Clarity and precision of 
the operative part of the decision (Arts 101(1) TFEU and 296 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; 
EC-Switzerland Agreement on Air Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003 , Arts 2 
and 23(5)) (see paras 32-36) 
3. Competition — Administrative procedure — Comm ission decision finding an infringement — 
Identification of the offences subject to sanction — Identification of the persons forming the 
subject-matter of a decision — Priority of the operative part over the statement of reasons 
(Arts 101(1) TFEU and 296 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; EC-Switzerland Agreement on Air 
Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003 , Art. 2) (see para. 37) 
4. Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Prohibition — Direct effect — Right of individuals 
to claim compensation for damage suffered — Procedures for exercising — Infringements forming 
the subject-matter of a decision of the Comm ission — Binding nature of the decision on national 
courts s — Scope — Importance of the clarity and precision of the operative part of the decision 
(Arts 101(1) TFEU and 296 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; EC-Switzerland Agreement on Air 
Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003 , Arts 2 and 16(1)) (see paras 38-44) 
EN 
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INFORMATION ON UNPU BLISHED DECISIONS 
5. Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Agreements and concerted practices constituting a 
single infringement — Undertakings that may be held responsible for participating in an overall 
cartel — Criteria — Single objective and overall plan (Art. 101(1) TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; 
EC-Switzerland Agreement on Air Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003 , Art. 2) (see 
paras 58, 63) 
6. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision to apply 
competition rules — Decision of the Comm ission finding an infringement and imposing a fine — 
Internal contradictions in the decision — Consequences — Annulment — Conditions — 
Defence rights of the penalised undertaking affected — Impossibility of the EU judicature 
exercising its review (Arts 101(1) TFEU and 296 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; EC-Switzerland 
Agreement on Air Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003 , Art. 2) (see paras 61, 77-79, 
85, 86) 
7. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision to apply 
competition rules — Correction of an error of reasoning during the proceedings before the Court — 
Not permissible (Arts 101(1) TFEU and 296 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 53; EC-Switzerland 
Agreement on Air Transport, Art. 8; Council Regulation No 1/2003 , Art. 2) (see paras 83, 84) 
8. Actions for annulment — Competence of the EU judicature — Scope — Prohibition on ruling ultra 
petita (Art. 263 TFEU) (see para. 88) 
9. Judicial proceedings — Application initiating proceedings — Determination of the subject-matter of 
the dispute — Modification of the initial pleas in the course of proceedings — Conditions (Art. 263 
TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the General Court (1991 ), Arts 44(2), and 48(2)) (see paras 90, 91) 
Re: 
APPLICATION for partial annulment of Commission Decision C(2010 ) 7694 final of 9 November 
2010 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 TFEU, Article 53 of the EEA Agreeme nt and 
Article 8 of the Agreeme nt between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on Air 
Transport (Case COMP/39258 — Airfreight), in so far as it concerns the applicant. 
Operative part 
The Court: 
1. Annuls Commission Decision C(2010 ) 7694 final of 9 November 2010 relating to a proceeding 
under Article 101 TFEU, Article 53 of the EEA Agreeme nt and Article 8 of the Agreeme nt 
between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on Air Transport (Case 
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INFORMATION ON UNPU BLISHED DECISIONS 
COMP/39258 — Airfreight), in so far as, in that decision, the European Commission, first, 
considered that British Airways plc (i) participated in the refusal to pay commission, (ii) 
infringed Article 101 TFEU, Article 53 of the Agreeme nt on the European Economic Area 
(EEA) and Article 8 of the Agreeme nt between the European Community and the Swiss 
Confederation on Air Transport between 22 January 2001 and 1 October 2001 , and (iii) 
participated in infringements of those provisions for freight services performed from Hong 
Kong (China), Japan, India, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Brazil, and, secondly, 
imposed a fine on it; 
2. Orders the Commission to bear its own costs and to pay those of British Airways. 
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