Case T-251/01: Action brought on 9 October 2001 by SEC Corporation against the Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2002-02-02
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, Japan, action for annulment (EU), electrical equipment, equal treatment, fine

C 31/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

2.2.2002

(Agents: J.-M. Stenier, P. Giusta and B. Schäfer) — application
for suspension of operation of the decision of 4 December
2000 of the appointing authority concerning the reassignment
of the applicant to the translation service — the President of
the Court of First Instance, has made an order on 21 September
2001, in which he:

1. Dismissed the application for interim measures;

2.

Reserved the costs.

Action brought on 9 October 2001 by SEC Corporation
against the Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-251/01)

(2002/C 31/25)

(Language of the case: English)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 9 October 2001 by SEC Corpor-
ation, represented by Mr Koen Platteau of Linklaters & Alliance,
Brussels (Belgium).

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul Article 3 of the Commission decision of 18 July
2001 in Case COMP/E-1/36.490 — Graphite electrodes,
in so far as it imposes a fine of EUR 12,2 million on the
applicant, or, at the least, substantially reduce this fine;

— order the Commission to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant is a Japanese manufacturer of graphite electrodes
and other graphite products. By the contested decision, fines
were imposed on the applicant and seven other companies for
having infringed the provisions of Article 81(1) of the EC
Treaty and Article 53(1) of the EEA Agreement by participating
in a complex of agreements and concerted practices in the
graphite electrodes sector. The fine imposed on the applicant
was of EUR 12,2 million. Parallel proceedings relating to these
agreements and practices have been undertaken in other
jurisdictions, e.g. in the United States.

The applicant does not substantially contest the facts men-
tioned by the Commission in the contested decision, and the
pleas in its application relate to the amount of the fine
imposed.

The applicant submits that the fine is unlawful, essentially
since it violates the duty of proportionality and of equal
treatment. It alleges that the Commission has acted unlawfully
and in violation of Articles 3(g), 5, 81 and 253 of the EC
Treaty by merely determining the basic amount of the fine on
the basis of the applicant’s world-wide turnover and not taking
into account the scope of
its activities in the EEA. The
categorisation used by the Commission for the establishment
of the basic amount of fine and the setting of this amount
violate the principles of proportionality and equal treatment.

Furthermore, the applicant submits that the Commission has
violated the general principles of fairness and ‘non bis in idem’
by not taking into account the sanctions previously imposed
on the applicant by the US competition authorities.

Finally, it alleges that, when examining possible mitigating
circumstances, the Commission violated the principles of equal
treatment and of proportionality by not making sufficient
distinction between the Japanese producers, all being regarded
as active members of the cartel. By disregarding the applicant’s
passive role and ‘follow my leader’ approach, the Commission
has disregarded its own Guidelines as well as the case law of
the Court of First Instance and the Court of Justice.

Action brought on 4 October 2001 by The Carbide/Graph-
ite Group, Inc. against the Commission of the European
Communities

(Case T-252/01)

(2002/C 31/26)

(Language of the case: English)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 4 October 2001 by The Carbide/
Graphite Group, Inc., represented by Mr Marc Seimetz and
Mr Jean Brücher of Brücher & Seimetz in association with
Dechert, Luxembourg (Luxembourg).