Judgment of the Court of 26 November 2002 in Case C-275/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hof van Beroep te Gent): European Community, represented by the Commission of the European Communities, v First NV, Franex NV (Articles 235 EC, 240 EC and second paragraph of 288 EC — Action for damages — Expert report ordered as an interlocutory measure by a national court as against the European Community — Exclusive jurisdiction of the Community Courts)
Date: 2003-01-11
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Belgium, Court of Justice of the European Union, appeal to the Court (EU), civil liability proceedings, interpretation of the law, toxic substance

C 7/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

11.1.2003

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

of 26 November 2002

(Sixth Chamber)

in Case C-275/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Hof van Beroep te Gent): European Community,
represented by the Commission of the European Com-
munities, v First NV, Franex NV (1)

(Articles 235 EC, 240 EC and second paragraph of 288 EC
— Action for damages — Expert report ordered as an
interlocutory measure by a national court as against the
European Community — Exclusive jurisdiction of the Com-
munity Courts)

(2003/C 7/02)

of 19 November 2002

in Case C-304/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
the High Court of Justice (England & Wales), Queen’s
Bench Division (Crown Office): The Queen v Ministry of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, ex parte: W.H. Strawson
(Farms) Ltd, and J.A. Gagg & Sons (a firm) (1)

(Common agricultural policy — Integrated administration
and control system for certain Community aid schemes —
Article 9(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 — Application
for ‘area’ aid — Penalties — Limitation period)

(Language of the case: Dutch)

(2003/C 7/03)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
in the European Court Reports)

(Language of the case: English)

In Case C-275/00: Reference to the Court under Article 234
EC by the Hof van Beroep te Gent (Belgium) for a preliminary
ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between
European Community, represented by the Commission of the
European Communities, and First NV, Franex NV, on the
interpretation of the second paragraph of Article 228 EC, the
Court, composed of: G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias, President,
J.-P. Puissochet, M. Wathelet and R. Schintgen (Presidents of
Chambers), C. Gulmann, D.A.O. Edward, A. La Pergola,
P. Jann, N. Colneric, S. von Bahr (Rapporteur) and J.N. Cunha
Rodrigues, Judges; P. Léger, Advocate General; L. Hewlett,
Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment
on 26 November 2002, in which it has ruled:

Article 235 EC, in conjunction with Article 240 EC and the second
paragraph of Article 288 EC, preclude a national court from
ordering, with respect to one of the institutions of the Community,
proceedings for an expert report whose purpose is to determine the
role of that institution in events alleged to have caused damage,
for the purposes of subsequent proceedings against the European
Community to establish its non-contractual liability.

( 1) OJ C 257 of 9.9.2000.

In Case C-304/00: Reference to the Court under Article 234
EC by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, Queen’s
Bench Division (Crown Office), for a preliminary ruling in the
proceedings pending before that court between The Queen
and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, ex parte:
W.H. Strawson (Farms) Ltd, and J.A. Gagg & Sons (a firm), on
the interpretation of Article 9(2) of Commission Regulation
(EEC) No 3887/92 of 23 December 1992 laying down detailed
rules for applying the integrated administration and control
system for certain Community aid schemes (OJ 1992 L 391,
p. 36), the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: J.-P. Puisso-
chet, President of the Chamber, C. Gulmann, V. Skouris,
F. Macken (Rapporteur) and N. Colneric, Judges; P. Léger,
Advocate General; M.-F. Contet, Administrator, for the Regis-
trar, has given a judgment on 19 November 2002, in which it
has ruled:

On a proper construction of the first and second paragraphs of
Article 9(2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 of
23 December 1992 laying down detailed rules for applying the
integrated administration and control system for certain Community
aid schemes, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1648/
95 of 6 July 1995, where the competent authority discovers that an
applicant for ‘area’ aid has made an incorrect declaration, neither
intentionally nor as the result of serious negligence, which has
entailed overdeclaration of the area eligible for aid and that the same
mistake was made in the years prior to that in which the mistake was
discovered, thus leading to overdeclaration of the area eligible for aid
in each of those years, that authority is required, subject to observance