Case C-138/07: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 12 February 2009 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hof van beroep te Antwerpen — Belgium) — Belgische Staat v N.V. Cobelfret (Directive 90/435/EEC — Article 4(1) — Direct effect — National legislation designed to prevent double taxation of distributed profits — Deduction of the amount of dividends received from a parent company's basis of assessment only in so far as it has made taxable profits)
Date: 2009-02-12
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: interpretation of the law, parent company, subsidiary, tax on profits of self-employment, tax system

4.4.2009

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 82/3

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Ireland to pay the costs;

Chapter XI-2 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life
at Sea, concluded in London on 1 November 1974, and the Inter-
national Ship and Port Facility Security Code, the Hellenic Republic
its obligations under Articles 10 EC, 71 EC
has failed to fulfil
and 80(2) EC.

2. Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.

3. Orders the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
the Slovak Republic, the Commission of the European Communities
and the European Data Protection Supervisor to bear their own
respective costs.

(1) OJ C 82, 14.4.2007.

(1) OJ C 237, 30.9.2006.

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 12 February
the European Communities v
2009 — Commission of

(Case C-138/07) (1)

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 12 February
2009 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hof van
beroep te Antwerpen — Belgium) — Belgische Staat v N.V.
Cobelfret

Hellenic Republic

(Case C-45/07) (1)

of a Member State

obligations —
(Failure
Articles 10 EC, 71 EC and 80(2) EC — Maritime safety —
Monitoring of ships and port facilities — International agree-
ments — Division of powers between the Community and the
Member States)

fulfil

to

(Directive 90/435/EEC — Article 4(1) — Direct effect —
National
legislation designed to prevent double taxation of
distributed profits — Deduction of the amount of dividends
received from a parent company's basis of assessment only in
so far as it has made taxable profits)

(2009/C 82/05)

Language of the case: Dutch

(2009/C 82/04)

Language of the case: Greek

Referring court

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: K. Simonsson, M. Konstantinidis, F. Hoffmeister and
I. Zervas, Agents)

Defendant: Hellenic Republic (represented by: A. Samoni-Rantou
and S. Chala, Agents)

Intervener in support of the defendant: United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland (represented by: I. Rao, Agent, and
D. Anderson QC)

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Infringement
of Articles 10, 71 and 80(2) of the EC Treaty — Submission to
an international organisation of a proposal which falls within a
field covered by exclusive Community external competence —
Maritime safety — Proposal for monitoring the compliance of
ships and port facilities with the requirements of Chapter XI-2
of SOLAS and the ISPS Code

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Declares that, by submitting to the International Maritime Organi-
sation (IMO) a proposal
for monitoring the
compliance of ships and port facilities with the requirements of

(MSC 80/5/11)

Hof van beroep te Antwerpen

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellant: Belgische Staat

Respondent: N.V. Cobelfret

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Hof van beroep te
Antwerpen — Interpretation of Article 4 of Council Directive
90/435/EEC of 23 July 1990 on the common system of taxa-
tion applicable in the case of parent companies and subsidiaries
of different Member States (OJ 1990 L 225, p. 6) — National
provisions designed to prevent double taxation of distributed
dividends — Conditions

Operative part of the judgment

The first indent of Article 4(1) of Council Directive 90/435/EEC of
23 July 1990 on the common system of taxation applicable in the
case of parent companies and subsidiaries of different Member States
must be interpreted as precluding legislation of a Member State, such
as that at issue in the main proceedings, which provides that dividends
received by a parent company are to be included in its basis of assess-
ment in order subsequently to be deducted from that basis in the
amount of 95 %,
in so far as, for the tax period in question, the
parent company has a positive profit balance after deduction of other
exempted profits.

C 82/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

4.4.2009

The first indent of Article 4(1) of Directive 90/435 is unconditional
and sufficiently precise to be capable of being relied on before national
courts.

ment of judgments in civil and commercial matters for a court of a
Member State to make an order to restrain a person from commencing
or continuing proceedings before the courts of another Member State
on the ground that such proceedings would be contrary to an arbitra-
tion agreement.

(1) OJ C 117, 26.5.2007.

(1) OJ C 155, 7.7.2007.

Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 10 February
2009 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the House of
Lords
formerly
Riunione Adriatica di Sicurta SpA, Generali Assicurazioni
Generali SpA v West Tankers Inc.

(United Kingdom)) — Allianz SpA,

(Case C-185/07) (1)

(Recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards —
Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 — Scope of application — Juris-
diction of a court of a Member State to issue an order
restraining a party from commencing or continuing proceed-
ings before a court of another Member State on the ground
that those proceedings would be contrary to an arbitration
agreement — New York Convention)

(2009/C 82/06)

Language of the case: English

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 12 February
2009 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundes-
gerichtshof — Germany) — Christopher Seagon in his
capacity as liquidator in respect of the assets of Frick
Supermärkte GmbH v Deko Marty
Teppichboden

Belgium NV

(Case C-339/07) (1)

(Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Insolvency proceedings
— Court with jurisdiction)

(2009/C 82/07)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

House of Lords

Referring court

Bundesgerichtshof

Parties to the main proceedings

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellants: Allianz SpA, formerly Riunione Adriatica di Sicurta
SpA, Generali Assicurazioni Generali SpA

Applicant: Christopher Seagon in his capacity as liquidator in
respect of the assets of Frick Teppichboden Supermärkte GmbH

Respondent: West Tankers Inc.

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — House of Lords — Inter-
pretation of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of
22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and
enforcement of
judgments in civil and commercial matters
(OJ 2001 L 12, p. 1) — Power of a court of a Member State to
order a party not to commence court proceedings or to cease
those proceedings in another Member State on the ground that
they are contrary to an arbitration agreement

Operative part of the judgment

It
is incompatible with Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of
22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforce-

Defendant: Deko Marty Belgium NV

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Bundesgerichtshof —
Interpretation of Article 3(1) of Council Regulation (EC)
No 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings
(OJ 2000 L 160, p. 1) and Article 1(2)(b) of Council Regulation
(EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the
recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commer-
cial matters (OJ 2001 L 12, p. 1) — Jurisdiction of the court of
the Member State within the territory of which the centre of a
debtor's main interests is situated in respect of
judgments
deriving directly from the insolvency proceedings and which are
closely linked with them — Action (Insolvenzanfechtungsklage)
for reimbursement of a payment by the debtor to a company
whose registered office is in another Member State