Joined Cases C-628/10 P and C-14/11 P: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 19 July 2012 — Alliance One International Inc., Standard Commercial Tobacco Co. Inc v Trans-Continental Tobacco Leaf Corp. Ltd, European Commission and European Commission v Alliance One International Inc., Standard Commercial Tobacco Co. Inc., Trans-Continental Leaf Tobacco Corp. Ltd (Appeals — Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Spanish market for the purchase and first processing of raw tobacco — Price-fixing and market-sharing — Infringement of Article 81 EC — Attributability of unlawful conduct of subsidiaries to their parent companies — Presumption of innocence — Rights of the defence — Obligation to state the reasons on which the decision is based — Equal treatment)
Date: 2012-07-19
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: parent company, price agreement, subsidiary, tobacco industry








C_2012295EN.01000601.xml










29.9.2012   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 295/6





Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 19 July 2012 — Alliance One International Inc., Standard Commercial Tobacco Co. Inc v Trans-Continental Tobacco Leaf Corp. Ltd, European Commission and European Commission v Alliance One International Inc., Standard Commercial Tobacco Co. Inc., Trans-Continental Leaf Tobacco Corp. Ltd
(Joined Cases C-628/10 P and C-14/11 P) (1)

(Appeals - Competition - Agreements, decisions and concerted practices - Spanish market for the purchase and first processing of raw tobacco - Price-fixing and market-sharing - Infringement of Article 81 EC - Attributability of unlawful conduct of subsidiaries to their parent companies - Presumption of innocence - Rights of the defence - Obligation to state the reasons on which the decision is based - Equal treatment)
2012/C 295/08
Language of the cases: English

Parties


Appellants: Alliance One International Inc., Standard Commercial Tobacco Co. Inc. (represented by: M. Odriozola Alén and A. João Vide, abogados)

Other parties to the proceedings: Trans-Continental Leaf Tobacco Corp. Ltd, European Commission (represented by: F. Castillo de la Torre, E. Gippini Fournier and R. Sauer, acting as Agents)
and

Appellant: European Commission (represented by F. Castillo de la Torre, E. Gippini Fournier and R. Sauer, acting as Agents)

Other parties to the proceedings: Alliance One International Inc., Standard Commercial Tobacco Co. Inc., Trans-Continental Leaf Tobacco Corp. Ltd (represented by M. Odriozola Alén and A. João Vide, abogados)

Re:

Appeal brought against the judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 27 October 2010 in Case T-24/05 Alliance One International and Others v Commission, by which the General Court dismissed, as regards Alliance One International, Inc. and Standard Commercial Tobacco Co., Inc., an action for annulment of Commission Decision C(2004) 4030 final of 20 October 2004 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 of the EC Treaty (Case COMP/C.38.238/B.2 — Raw tobacco — Spain) concerning a cartel relating to the fixing of prices paid to producers and of quantities bought from them on the Spanish raw tobacco market

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Dismisses the appeals;










2.


Orders Alliance One International Inc. and Standard Commercial Tobacco Co. Inc. to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission in relation to the appeal in Case C-628/10 P;










3.


Orders the European Commission to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Alliance One International Inc., Standard Commercial Tobacco Co. Inc. and Trans-Continental Leaf Tobacco Corp. Ltd in relation to the appeal in Case C-14/11 P.






(1)  OJ C 72, 5.3.2011.

OJ C 80, 12.3.2011.