Case C-128/21, Lietuvos notarų rūmai and Others: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 18 January 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Lietuvos vyriausiasis administracinis teismas — Lithuania) — Lietuvos notarų rūmai, M. S., S. Š, D. V., V. P., J. P., D. L.-B., D. P., R. O. I. v Lietuvos Respublikos konkurencijos taryba (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Competition — Article 101 TFEU — Concepts of ‘undertaking’ and ‘decisions of associations of undertakings’ — Decisions of the chamber of notaries of a Member State fixing the methods for calculating fees — Restriction ‘by object’ — Prohibition — Lack of justification — Fine — Imposition on the association of undertakings and its members — Perpetrator of the infringement)
Date: 2024-01-18
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: board of directors, competition law, notary, professional society, restriction on competition, single market








C_202401650EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2024/1650


4.3.2024





Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 18 January 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Lietuvos vyriausiasis administracinis teismas — Lithuania) — Lietuvos notarų rūmai, M. S., S. Š, D. V., V. P., J. P., D. L.-B., D. P., R. O. I. v Lietuvos Respublikos konkurencijos taryba
(Case C-128/21, (1) Lietuvos notarų rūmai and Others)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Competition - Article 101 TFEU - Concepts of ‘undertaking’ and ‘decisions of associations of undertakings’ - Decisions of the chamber of notaries of a Member State fixing the methods for calculating fees - Restriction ‘by object’ - Prohibition - Lack of justification - Fine - Imposition on the association of undertakings and its members - Perpetrator of the infringement)
(C/2024/1650)
Language of the case: Lithuanian

Referring court

Lietuvos vyriausiasis administracinis teismas

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: Lietuvos notarų rūmai, M. S., S. Š, D. V., V. P., J. P., D. L.-B., D. P., R. O. I.

Defendant: Lietuvos Respublikos konkurencijos taryba

in the presence of: Lietuvos Respublikos teisingumo ministerija, Lietuvos Respublikos finansų ministerija

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 101 TFEU
must be interpreted as meaning that notaries established in a Member State are to be regarded as ‘undertakings’, within the meaning of that provision, where they carry out, in certain situations, the activities of approving mortgage transactions, the affixing of enforcement clauses, the execution of notarial acts, the preparation of draft transactions, advice, the provision of technical services and the validation of exchange contracts, in so far as those activities are not connected with the exercise of public authority prerogatives.










2.


Article 101(1) TFEU
must be interpreted as meaning that rules standardising the way in which notaries in a Member State calculate the fees charged for carrying out certain of their activities, adopted by a professional organisation such as the Chamber of Notaries of that Member State, constitute decisions of an association of undertakings within the meaning of that provision.










3.


Article 101(1) TFEU
must be interpreted as meaning that decisions of an association of undertakings standardising the way in which notaries calculate the fees charged for carrying out certain of their activities constitute restrictions of competition ‘by object’ prohibited by that provision.










4.


Article 101 TFEU
must be interpreted as precluding a national competition authority from imposing, in respect of an infringement of that provision committed by an association of undertakings, individual fines on undertakings which are members of the governing body of that association where those undertakings are not joint perpetrators of that infringement.






(1)  
            OJ C 182, 10.5.2021.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/1650/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)