Judgment of the Court of 9 September 2003 in Case C-198/01 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale amministrativo regionale per il Lazio): Consorzio Industrie Fiammiferi (CIF) v Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (Competition law — National legislation anti-competitive — National competition authority's power to declare such legislation inapplicable — Circumstances in which undertakings not answerable for anti-competitive conduct)
Date: 2003-11-01
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: competition policy, fixing of prices, interpretation of the law, intervention policy, restrictive trade practice

1.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 264/9

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

of 9 September 2003

in Case C-198/01 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Tribunale amministrativo regionale per il Lazio):
Consorzio Industrie Fiammiferi (CIF) v Autorità Garante
della Concorrenza e del Mercato (1)

2.

(Competition law — National legislation anti-competitive
— National competition authority’s power to declare such
legislation inapplicable — Circumstances in which undertak-
ings not answerable for anti-competitive conduct)

— may impose penalties on the undertakings concerned in
respect of past conduct where the conduct was merely
facilitated or promoted by the national legislation, whilst
taking due account of the specific features of the legislative
framework in which the undertakings acted;

It is for the referring court to assess whether national legislation
such as that at issue in the main proceedings, under which
competence to fix the retail selling prices of a product is
delegated to a ministry and power
to allocate production
between undertakings is entrusted to a consortium to which the
relevant producers are obliged to belong, may be regarded,
for the purposes of Article 81(1) EC, as precluding those
undertakings from engaging in autonomous conduct which
remains capable of preventing, restricting or distorting compe-
tition.

(2003/C 264/14)

(1) OJ C 227 of 11.8.2001.

(Language of the case: Italian)

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

In Case C-198/01: Reference to the Court under Article 234
EC by the Tribunale amministrativo regionale per il Lazio
(Italy) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending
before that court between Consorzio Industrie Fiammiferi (CIF)
and Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, on the
interpretation of Article 81 EC, the Court, composed of:
G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias, President, J.-P. Puissochet, M. Wathelet
(Rapporteur) and C.W.A. Timmermans (Presidents of Cham-
bers), C. Gulmann, D.A.O. Edward, A. La Pergola, P. Jann,
V. Skouris, S. von Bahr and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges;
F.G. Jacobs, Advocate General; L. Hewlett, Principal Adminis-
trator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on 9 September
2003, in which it has ruled:

1. Where undertakings engage in conduct contrary to Article 81(1)
EC and where that conduct is required or facilitated by national
legislation which legitimises or reinforces the effects of the
conduct, specifically with regard to price-fixing or market-
sharing arrangements, a national competition authority, one of
whose responsibilities is to ensure that Article 81 EC is
observed:

— has a duty to disapply the national legislation;

— may not impose penalties in respect of past conduct on
the undertakings concerned when the conduct was required
by the national legislation;

— may impose penalties on the undertakings concerned in
respect of conduct subsequent to the decision to disapply
the national legislation, once the decision has become
definitive in their regard;

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Sixth Chamber)

of 11 September 2003

in Case C-207/01 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Corte d’appello di Firenze): Altair Chimica SpA v
ENEL Distribuzione SpA (1)

(Competition — Dominant position — Supply of electricity
— Imposition of a ‘sovrapprezzo’)

(2003/C 264/15)

(Language of the case: Italian)

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

In Case C-207/01: Reference to the Court under Article 234
EC by the Corte d’appello di Firenze (Italy) for a preliminary
ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between
Altair Chimica SpA and ENEL Distribuzione SpA on the
interpretation of Articles 81, 82 and 85 EC, Council Directive
92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements
for products subject to excise duty and on the holding,
movement and monitoring of such products (OJ 1992 L 76,
p. 1), as amended by Council Directive 96/99/EC of 30 Decem-
ber 1996 (OJ 1997 L 8, p. 12), and Council Recommendation
81/924/EEC of 27 October 1981 on electricity tariff structures
in the Community (OJ 1981 L 337, p. 12), the Court (Sixth
Chamber), composed of:
J.-P. Puissochet, President of the
Chamber, R. Schintgen (Rapporteur), V. Skouris, F. Macken