Case C-369/23, Vivacom Bulgaria: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 19 December 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Varhoven administrativen sad – Bulgaria) – Vivacom Bulgaria EAD v Varhoven administrativen sad, Natsionalna agentsia za prihodite (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU – Effective legal protection in the fields covered by EU law – Second paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Access to an independent and impartial tribunal – Liability of a Member State for damage caused to individuals by an infringement of EU law – Infringement by a national court adjudicating at last instance in relation to value added tax (VAT) – Jurisdiction of a court adjudicating at last instance while having the capacity of defendant in the dispute – Composition of the adjudicating panel)
Date: 2024-12-19
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: administrative court, civil liability, civil liability proceedings, damages, higher court, infringement of EU law, right to justice








C_202501064EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/1064


24.2.2025






Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 19 December 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Varhoven administrativen sad – Bulgaria) – ‘Vivacom Bulgaria’ EAD v Varhoven administrativen sad, Natsionalna agentsia za prihodite


(Case C-369/23,
                (1)
Vivacom Bulgaria)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU - Effective legal protection in the fields covered by EU law - Second paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Access to an independent and impartial tribunal - Liability of a Member State for damage caused to individuals by an infringement of EU law - Infringement by a national court adjudicating at last instance in relation to value added tax (VAT) - Jurisdiction of a court adjudicating at last instance while having the capacity of defendant in the dispute - Composition of the adjudicating panel)
(C/2025/1064)
Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Varhoven administrativen sad

Parties to the main proceedings


Appellant:
            ‘Vivacom Bulgaria’ EAD

Respondents: Varhoven administrativen sad, Natsionalna agentsia za prihodite

Operative part of the judgment

The second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU and the second paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation under which a court hears at last instance, in the context of an appeal on a point of law, a case, in which that court has the status of defendant, relating to the liability of the State for an alleged infringement of EU law on account of a judgment delivered by that court, provided that that national legislation and the measures taken to deal with that case are such as to dispel any reasonable doubt in the minds of individuals as to the independence and impartiality of the court concerned.


(1)  
            OJ C 314, 4.9.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/1064/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)