CELEX: C2000/006/27
Language: en
Date: 2000-01-08 00:00:00
Title: Case C-390/99: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Sección Tercera de la Sala Tercera del Tribunal Supremo by order of that court of 22 September 1999 in the case of Canal Satélite Digital S.L. and Administración General del Estado, the other party to the proceedings being DTS Distribuidora de Televisión Digital S.A.

8.1.2000               EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                        C 6/15
Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Sección                    Action brought on 13 October 1999 by the Commission
Tercera de la Sala Tercera del Tribunal Supremo by order                of the European Communities against the Hellenic Repub-
of that court of 22 September 1999 in the case of                                                      lic
Canal Satélite Digital S.L. and Administración General del
Estado, the other party to the proceedings being DTS
           Distribuidora de Televisión Digital S.A.                                            (Case C-396/99)
                         (Case C-390/99)
                                                                                                  (2000/C 6/28)
                           (2000/C 6/27)
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                  An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before
European Communities by order of 22 September 1999 from                 the Court of Justice of the European Communities on
the Sección Tercera de la Sala Tercera del Tribunal Supremo            13 October 1999 by the Commission of the European Com-
(Third Section of the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court),              munities, represented by Dimitris Triantafillou and Barry
which was received at the Court Registry on 12 October 1999,            Doherty, of its Legal Service, with an address for service in
for a preliminary ruling in the case of Canal Satéllite Digital         Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gómez de la Cruz, of its
S.L. and Administración General del Estado, the other party to         Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.
the proceedings being DTS Distribuidora de Televisión Digital
S.A. on the following questions:
                                                                        The Commission claims that the Court should:
1. Does Article 30 of the EC Treaty, in conjunction with the
    provisions of Articles 1 to 5 of Directive 95/47/EC of the
    European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October                — declare that, by not adopting within the time-limit laid
    1995 on the use of standards for the transmission of                    down all the measures necessary in order to comply with
    television signals (1), preclude national rules which impose            Article 2(1) of Directive 96/2/EC (1) with regard to mobile
    on operators of conditional-access services, as a condition             and personal communications, in conjunction with the
    of their being permitted to market apparatus, equipment,                second and third paragraphs of Article 3a of Directive
    decoders or systems for the digital transmission and                    90/388/EEC on competition in the markets for telecom-
    reception of television signals by satellite — including                munications services, as amended by Directive 96/2/EC,
    those lawfully manufactured or marketed in other Member                 the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations
    States — the following cumulative requirements:                         under the Treaty and those directives;
    — the obligation to register details of themselves and of
         the aforementioned apparatus, equipment, decoders              — order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.
         and systems in a compulsory official register, such
         registration being conditional not only on a solemn
         declaration by the operator concerned that he has
         complied with the technical specifications, but also on        Pleas in law and main arguments
         a prior technical report from the national authorities
         on compliance with the technical and other require-
         ments laid down in the national legislation;                   The Member States are required by the binding character of
                                                                        the third paragraph of Article 249 and Article 10 EC (ex third
    — the obligation, following completion of the registration          paragraph of Article 189 and Article 5 of the EC Treaty) to
         procedure referred to above, to obtain the appropriate         adopt the measures needed to transpose directives into national
         administrative ‘certification’ attesting to compliance         law before the expiry of the period laid down for that purpose
         with the aforementioned technical and other require-           and to communicate those measures immediately to the
         ments laid down in the national legislation?                   Commission.
2. Does Article 59 of the EC Treaty, in conjunction with
    Articles 1 to 5 of Directive 95/47/EC, preclude national
    legislation which imposes the administrative requirements           Up until now the Hellenic Republic has not adopted the
    set out above on operators of conditional-access services?          measures necessary in order to implement fully Article 2(1) of
                                                                        Directive 96/2/EC and the second and third paragraphs of
3. Is a national legislative provision which prescribes com-            Article 3a of Directive 90/388/EEC, as amended by Directive
    pliance with such requirements to be regarded as a                  96/2/EC, which had to be implemented no later than 1 January
    ‘technical regulation’ for the purposes of the duty to              1998; it has thereby failed to fulfil its obligations under the
    notify the Commission referred to in Council Directive              Treaty and those directives.
    83/189/EEC of 28 March 1983 laying down a procedure
    for the provision of information in the field of technical
    standards and regulations? (2)
                                                                        (1) OJ L 20, 26.1.1996, p. 59.
(1) OJ L 281 of 23.11.1995, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 109 of 26.4.1993, p. 8.