CELEX: C1997/074/32
Language: en
Date: 1997-03-08 00:00:00
Title: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Tribunale di Genova - Sezione Sesta Civile by order of that court of 18 December 1996 in the case of Palmira Ieropoli and Giovanni Sgambellone against Banca Carige SpA (Case C-23/97)

No C 74/ 16              EN 1                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                        8 . 3 . 97
 2. Is it contrary, with respect in particular to a farmer                      a uniform and binding manner by the member banks
       who lives for most of the year in another Member                         — are, taken as a whole, compatible with Article 85
       State of the EU together with his or her spouse who is                   of the Treaty, in relation to the individual clauses
       the other owner of the said farm and works as                            discussed in the grounds of this order, in that they are
       a diplomatic representative of the Finnish State, to                     liable adversely to affect trade between the Member
       the prohibition of discrimination, the principle of                      States and have as their object and effect the
       proportionality or other principles to be observed in                    prevention, restriction or distortion of competition
       Community law to exclude him or her from the                             within the common market;
       compensation in question ?
                                                                           4 . what effects any finding of incompatibility in
 (') OJ No L 218 , 6 . 8 . 1991 , p . 1 .                                       accordance with question 3 may have on the
 (2 ) OJ No L 128 , 19 . 5 . 1975 , p. 1 .                                      corresponding clauses of the 'all-embracing' guarantee
                                                                                agreements and on the agreements themselves
                                                                                concluded 'downstream' by individual banks, since, as
                                                                                a group, the banks belonging to the ABI may be
                                                                                regarded, within the meaning and for the purposes of
                                                                                Article 86 of the Treaty, as holding a joint dominant
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Tribunale di                          position in the national credit market, whose specific
Genova — Sezione Sesta Civile by order of that court of                         application of the rules in question is regarded as an
 18 December 1996 in the case of Palmira Ieropoli and                           abuse .
        Giovanni Sgambellone against Banca Carige SpA
                             ( Case C-23/97 )
                               ( 97/C 74/32 )
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                     Action brought on 17 January 1997 by the Commission of
European Communities by order of the Tribunale di Geno­                    the European Communities against the Federal Republic
va — Sezione Sesta Civile ( Genoa District Court, Sixth                                                 of Germany
Civil Chamber ) of 18 December 1996, which was received                                              ( Case C-24/97)
at the Court Registry on 17 January 1997, for a                                                        ( 97/C 74/33 )
preliminary ruling in the case of Palmira Ieropoli and
Giovanni Sgambellone against Banca Carige SpA on the
                                                                          An action against the Federal Republic of Germany was
following questions :
                                                                           brought before the Court of Justice of the European
                                                                           Communities on 17 January 1997 by the Commission of
1 . whether the Norma Bancarie Uniforme (Uniform Bank                     the European Communities, represented by Peter
      Rules ) laid down by the ABI ( Associazione Bancaria                Hillenkamp and Peter Jan Kuijper, of its Legal Service,
      Italiana ) for its members in relation to contracts for             acting as Agents, with an address for service in
      the opening of current account credit facilities — since            Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gomez de la Cruz, of
      they are laid down and applied in a uniform and                     its Legal Service, Wagner Centre C 254, Kirchberg,
      binding manner by the banks belonging to the ABI —                  Luxembourg.
      are compatible with Article 85 of the Treaty, where
      they make the credit facility subject to conditions for             The applicant claims that the Court should:
      determination      of      an  interest rate  which    is  not
      previously determined and is not determinable by the                — declare that the Federal Republic of Germany has
      customer, and they are liable adversely to affect trade                  failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 48 , 52 and
      between the Member States and have as their object                       59 of the EC Treaty and under Article 4 ( 1 ) of Council
      and effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of                  Directive 68/360/EEC of 15 October 1968 on the
      competition within the common market;                                    abolition of restrictions on movement and residence
                                                                               within the Community for workers of Member States
2 . what effects any finding of incompatibility in                             and their families (') and under Article 4 ( 1 ) of
      accordance with question 1 may have on the                               Council Directive 73/ 148/EEC on the abolition of
      corresponding clauses of the contracts for the opening                   restrictions on movement and residence within the
      of a current account credit facility, concluded                          Community for nationals of Member States with
      'downstream' by member banks with individual                             regard to establishment and the provision of
      customers, since, as a group, the banks belonging to                     services ( 2 ) in so far as under paragraph 12 a ( 2 ) and
      the ABI may be regarded, within the meaning and for                      ( 3 ) of the AufenthG/EWG ( Law on residence of EC
      the purposes of Article 86 of the Treaty, as holding a                   Community nationals ) non-German Community
      joint dominant position in the national credit market,                   nationals in the Federal Republic of Germany are
      whose specific application of the rules in question (in                  treated, as regards the degree of fault and scale of
      connection with determination of the interest payable                    fines, disproportionately differently from German
      on the loan ) is regarded as an abuse;                                   nationals who commit a comparable infringement of
                                                                               the obligation to prove their identity ( paragraph 5 ( 1 )
3 . whether the NBU laid down by the ABI for its                               and (2 ) of the PersonalausweisG ( Law on identity
      members in relation to the 'all-embracing' guarantee                     cards ) in conjunction with paragraph 17 ( 1 ) of the
      covering the credit facility — since they are applied in                 OWiG ( Law on administrative offences )),