CELEX: 62008CJ0564
Language: en
Date: 2009-11-12
Title: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 12 November 2009. # SGL Carbon AG v Commission of the European Communities. # Appeal - Competition - Agreements, decisions and concerted practices - Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement - Market for electrical and mechanical carbon and graphite products - Article 15(2) of Regulation No 17 - Guidelines on the method of setting fines - Turnover and share of the relevant market - Value of ‘captive’ use - Principle of equal treatment - Principle of proportionality. # Case C-564/08 P.

Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 12 November 2009 – SLG Carbon v Commission
      (Case C-564/08 P)
      Appeal – Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices − Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement – Market for electrical and mechanical carbon and graphite products − Article 15(2) of Regulation No 17 – Guidelines on the method of setting fines – Turnover and share of the relevant market – Value of ‘captive’ use – Principle of equal treatment – Principle of proportionality
      1.                     Appeals – Grounds – Plea submitted for the first time in the context of the appeal – Inadmissibility – Appeal against a judgment
            of the Court of First Instance in the sphere of competition (see paras 22-23, 25, 31)
      2.                     Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Turnover taken into account – Value of deliveries internal to the undertaking
            – Included (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2) (see para. 30)
      3.                     Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Division of the undertakings in question into categories with a specific starting
            point – Whether permissible (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2); Commission notice 98/C 9/03, point 1 A) (see paras 43,
            45, 49, 56)
      4.                     Appeals – Jurisdiction of the Court – Challenge on grounds of fairness to the Court of First Instance’s assessment concerning
            the amount of a fine imposed on an undertaking – Excluded – Review limited to ascertaining whether the General Court took
            into account all the factors essential to the assessment of the gravity of the infringement and all the arguments raised against
            the fine imposed (see paras 58-59) 
      Re: 
      
         Appeal brought against the judgment of the Court of First Instance (Fifth Chamber) of 8 October 2008 in Case T-68/04 
               SGL Carbon
                v 
               Commission
               , in which the Court of First Instance dismissed the application brought by the appellant for the annulment of Commission
                  Decision 2004/420/EC of 3 December 2003 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement concerning
                  an agreement in the market for electrical and mechanical carbon and graphite products or, in the alternative, an application
                  for the reduction of the fine imposed on the appellant – Failure to take into consideration, by classifying it as a new and
                  inadmissible complaint, the appellant’s argument concerning the taking into account of the value of the captive use in calculating
                  the turnover and market shares of the undertakings concerned – Breach of the principles of proportionality and equal treatment.
               
            Operative part
      The Court: 
      
         
                  1.
               
               
                  
               
               
                  	Dismisses the appeal;
               
            
         
                  2.
               
               
                  
               
               
                  	Orders SGL Carbon AG to pay the costs.