CELEX: 62007TJ0448
Language: en
Date: 2012-06-27 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 27 June 2012.#YKK Corp. and Others v European Commission.#Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Markets for zip fasteners and ‘other fasteners’, and for attaching machines — Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC — Coordinated price increases, fixing of minimum prices, customer-sharing, market-sharing and exchange of other commercial information — Single and continuous infringement — Evidence — Nature and implementation of the infringement — Real impact — Leniency Notice — Fines — Upper limit — Dissuasive effect of the fine — Equal treatment — Proportionality.#Case T‑448/07.

Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 27 June 2012 —YKK and Others v Commission(Case T-448/07)
      Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Markets for zip fasteners and ‘other fasteners’, and for attaching machines — Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC — Coordinated price increases, fixing of minimum prices, customer-sharing, market-sharing and exchange of other commercial
         information — Single and continuous infringement — Evidence — Nature and implementation of the infringement — Real impact — Leniency Notice — Fines — Upper limit — Dissuasive effect of the fine — Equal treatment — Proportionality
      
      1.                     Proceedings — Measures of inquiry — Hearing of witnesses — Discretion of the General Court (Rules of Procedure of the General
            Court, Art. 68) (see paras 43, 44)
      2.                     Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission decision finding an infringement — Use as evidence of statements of other
            undertakings which participated in the infringement — Lawfulness — Probative value of voluntary depositions made by the main
            participants in a cartel with a view to benefiting from the Leniency Notice (Art. 81(1) EC; Commission Notices 96/C 207/04
            and 2002/C 45/03) (see paras 52-58)
      3.                     Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission decision finding an infringement — Means of proof — Reliance on a body
            of evidence — Degree of evidential value necessary as regards items of evidence viewed in isolation (Art. 81(1) EC) (see paras 71,
            80, 105)
      4.                     Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Agreements between undertakings — Concept — Joint intention as to the conduct
            to be adopted on the market (Art. 81(1) EC) (see paras 74, 75, 79)
      5.                     Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Concerted practice — Concept — Exchange of information in the context of a
            cartel or with a view to its preparation (Art. 81(1) EC) (see paras 76-79)
      6.                     Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Participation in meetings having an anti-competitive object — Circumstances
            from which, where the undertaking concerned has not distanced itself from the decisions adopted, it may be concluded that
            it participated in the ensuing cartel — Public distancing — Restrictive interpretation (Art. 81(1) EC) (see paras 113-117)
      7.                     Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Infringements classified as very serious on the basis of their nature alone —
            No requirement to determine their impact and their geographical extent (Art. 81(1) EC; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(3);
            Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, Section 1A) (see paras 123-126, 138, 139, 143)
      8.                     Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Criteria — Gravity of the infringement — Effective capacity to cause significant
            damage to competition on the market concerned — Relevance of the market shares of the undertaking concerned (Art. 81(1) EC;
            Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2) and (3)) (see paras 147, 148)
      9.                     Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Principles of equal treatment — Decision-making practice of the Commission —
            Indicative character (Art. 81(1) EC; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2) and (3)) (see paras 149-151)
      10.                     Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Non-imposition or reduction of the fine for cooperation of the undertaking
            concerned — Need for conduct which facilitated the Commission's finding of an infringement — Discretion of the Commission —
            Judicial review — Limits (Art. 81(1) EC; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2) and (3); Commission Notice 96/C 207/04)
            (see paras 170-172)
      11.                     Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Maximum amount — Calculation — Turnover to be taken into consideration — Cumulative
            turnover of all the companies constituting the economic entity operating as an undertaking (Art. 81(1) EC; Council Regulation
            No 1/2003, Art. 23(2)) (see paras 192, 193)
      Re:
      
         
               APPLICATION for, primarily, annulment of Commission Decision C(2007) 4257 final of 19 September 2007 relating to a proceeding
                  under Article 81 [EC] (Case COMP/39.168 — PO/Hard Haberdashery: Fasteners) in so far as it concerns the applicants and, in
                  the alternative, annulment or reduction of their respective fines.
               
            Operative part 
      The Court:
      
         
                  1.
               
               
                  
               
               
                  	Dismisses the action;
               
            
         
                  2.
               
               
                  
               
               
                  	Orders YKK Corp., YKK Holding Europe BV and YKK Stocko Fasteners GmbH to pay the costs.