CELEX: C2003/239/03
Language: en
Date: 2003-10-04 00:00:00
Title: Case C-325/03 P: Appeal brought on 25 July 2003 by José Luis Zuazaga Meabe against the order delivered on 28 April 2003 by the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (Second Chamber) in Case T-15/03 between José Luis Zuazaga Meabe and the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM), the other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal being Banco de Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

C 239/2                 EN                          Official Journal of the European Union                                          4.10.2003
       —    were never the subject of consultation with the                 The appellant claims that the Court should:
            Commission before being approved,
       the Kingdom of Spain has infringed Articles 1, 4, 7 and 9
       of Regulation No 3577/92 (1) and has failed to fulfil its            1.    quash the order of the Court of First Instance (Second
       obligations under that regulation and the EC Treaty.                       Chamber) delivered on 28 April 2003 in Case T-15/03,
                                                                                  the applicant having shown all the requisite care and
                                                                                  attention for the transmission of documents to the Court
2.     order the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.                               of First Instance;
                                                                            2.    consequently, to refer the case back to the Court of First
Pleas in law and main arguments                                                   Instance for a declaration that the action for annulment
                                                                                  in Case T-15/03 is admissible, and for proceedings to
                                                                                  continue before the Court of First Instance on the basis
The Vigo estuary is within the territorial scope of Regulation                    of the claims submitted in the application against the
No 3577/92. That regulation was not designed to regulate                          decision of the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM of
competence in a specific market. The fact that sea traffic                        24 October 2002 in Case R 918/2001-2, concerning
between the ports of the Vigo estuary is local does not preclude                  opposition proceedings between José Luis Zuazaga Meabe
the application of the principle of freedom to provide services.                  and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.
( 1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92 of 7 December 1992
     applying the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime
     transport with Member States (maritime cabotage), OJ L 364,
     12.12.1992, p. 7.
                                                                            Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                            —     Infringement of Article 45 of the Statute of the Court of
                                                                                  Justice: the applicant pleads the existence of unfavourable,
                                                                                  unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances which were
Appeal brought on 25 July 2003 by José Luis Zuazaga                               beyond his control, which prove the existence of unfore-
Meabe against the order delivered on 28 April 2003 by                             seeable circumstances or force majeure. The confirmation
the Court of First Instance of the European Communities                           by registered letter lodged with the Spanish postal services
(Second Chamber) in Case T-15/03 between José Luis                                on 7 January 2003 of the application, transmitted to the
Zuazaga Meabe and the Office for Harmonisation in                                 Court of First Instance by fax on 3 January 2003, was
the Internal Market (OHIM), the other party to the                                ineffective for reasons beyond the applicant’s control.
proceedings before the Board of Appeal being Banco de                             The principle of proportionality therefore requires the
                 Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.                                   Court of First Instance to adopt a flexible approach.
                         (Case C-325/03 P)
                                                                            —     Infringement of Articles 102 of the Rules of Procedure of
                                                                                  the Court of First Instance and Article 81(2) of the Rules
                           (2003/C 239/03)                                        of Procedure of the Court of Justice: the applicant submits
                                                                                  that, to the ordinary time-limit extended by ten days on
                                                                                  account of distance may be allowed an additional ten
                                                                                  days for a definite confirmation of the document trans-
                                                                                  mitted by fax.
An appeal against the order delivered on 28 April 2003 by the
Second Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the European
Communities in Case T-15/03 between José Luis Zuazaga
Meabe and the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market               —     Infringement of Article 103 of the Rules of Procedure of
was brought before the Court of Justice of the European                           the Court of First Instance and Article 82 of the Rules of
Communities on 25 July by José Luis Zuazaga Meabe, rep-                           Procedure of the Court of Justice: the applicant claims
resented by José Antonio Calderón Chavero and Natalia Moya                        that the principle of proportionality can and should be
Fernández, with an address for service in Luxembourg, the                         applied to set the deadline in a flexible manner in cases
other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal                         such as this, where the applicant sent the document in
being Banco de Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.                                     advance by fax.
 ---pagebreak--- 4.10.2003              EN                        Official Journal of the European Union                                               C 239/3
—      Infringement of Article 43(3) of the Rules of Procedure           Further, is the use in a bank, as a credit institution, of balances
       of the Court of First Instance: the applicant submits that        on a deposit account, funds being placed in that account, as
       in the present case the appeal was not accepted on the            provided for in Decision 1097/1959 of the Monetary Com-
       grounds of alleged failure to observe the period of               mittee referred to in this judgment (with the proceeds of
       confirmation, rather than the procedural time-limit which         imported foreign currency, and so forth), as deposits in
       was complied with by transmission of the fax.                     national currency, convertible into foreign currency, governed
                                                                         by Article 4 of that same directive, List D and item IX of the
                                                                         Nomenclature, which reads: ‘Opening and placing of funds on
—      Infringement of Article 43(6) of the Rules of Procedure           current or deposit accounts, repatriation or use of balances on
       of the Court of First Instance: the applicant submits, in         current or deposit accounts with credit institutions’, as that
       accordance with the principle of proportionality, that to         provision stands according to its spirit and the purpose sought
       the existing procedural time-limit, extended by ten days          by that provision?
       on account of distance, may be added ten additional days
       in order to validate an application and a list of annexes
       previously sent by fax.
                                                                         (1 ) English special edition: Series I Chapter 1959-1962 p. 49.
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Areiou Pagou                   Action brought on 29 July 2003 by the Commission
by order of that Court of 31 March 2003 in the case of                   of the European Communities against the Portuguese
        Trapeza tis Ellados AE against Banque Artesia                                                    Republic
                         (Case C-329/03)                                                            (Case C-332/03)
                         (2003/C 239/04)                                                            (2003/C 239/05)
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                   An action against the Portuguese Republic was brought before
European Communities by order of the Areiou Pagou                        the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 29 July
(Supreme Court of Cassation) of 31 March 2003, received at               2003 by the Commission of the European Communities,
the Court Registry on 28 July 2003, for a preliminary ruling             represented by Thomas van Rijn and Ana Maria Alves Vieira,
in the case of Trapeza tis Ellados AE against Banque Artesia on          acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg.
the following question:
Are (a) bonds issued by a bank in the form of a limited                  The applicant claims that the Court should:
company belonging, by virtue of its shares, to the State, with a
maturity of one year from issue which are dealt in on the
                                                                         1)     declare that:
money market, where they are quoted, or (b) bonds issued by
a bank in the form of a limited company with a maturity of
one year from issue which are dealt in on the money market,                     —     by failing to adopt appropriate rules for the use of
where they are quoted, governed by Article 4 of the First                             the quotas allocated to it for the fishing years from
Directive of the Council of the European Communities (921/                            1994 to 1996;
60) ( 1), List D and item VI of the Nomenclature, which reads
‘Short-term investments in Treasury bills and other securities
normally dealt in on the money market’, as that provision                       —     by failing to ensure compliance with Community
stands according to its spirit and the purpose sought or is to                        legislation in the field of conservation, by means of
be interpreted under a possible doctrine in international trade                       sufficient supervision of fishing activities and adqua-
of common experience, to the effect that securities such as                           te inspection of the fishing fleet and of the unloading
the one-year bonds in ETVA at issue constitute short-term                             and recording of catches in the fishing years 1994 to
investments?                                                                          1996;