CELEX: C1997/131/05
Language: en
Date: 1997-04-26 00:00:00
Title: JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Second Chamber) of 13 March 1997 in Case C-109/95 (reference for a preliminary ruling made by the Polimeles Protodikio, Athens): Astir AE v. the Greek State (Export refunds for agricultural products - Loss of goods in transit by reason of force majeure - Variable refund)

26 . 4 . 97                                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 131 /3
 1 . Dismisses the appeal.                                                                  ORDER OF THE COURT
                                                                                                 (Second Chamber )
2 . Orders the appellant to pay the costs.                                                      of 5 February 1997
                                                                         in Case C-51/95 P: Unifruit Hellas EPE v. Commission of
(') OJ No C 16, 20 . 1 . 1996 , p. 6 .                                                   the European Communities (')
                                                                         (Appeal — Non-contractual liability — Special
                                                                         surveillance measures concerning imports of apples —
                                                                         Countervailing charge — Applied concurrently —
                                                                         Products in transit to the Community — Principle of the
                                                                                      protection of legitimate expectations)
                JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                                                 ( 97/C 131 /06 )
                         ( Second Chamber)
                        of 13 March 1997                                                  (Language of the case: Greek)
in Case C-109/95 (reference for a preliminary ruling made
by the Polimeles Protodikio, Athens ): Astir AE v. the                     (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
                            Greek State ( 1 )                                     published in the European Court Reports)
(Export refunds for agricultural products — Loss of goods
   in transit by reason of force majeure — Variable refund)              In Case C-51/95 P: Unifruit Hellas EPE, a company
                                                                         governed by Greek law, established in Athens, represented
                            ( 97/C 131 /05 )                             by Ilias Soufleros, of the Athens Bar, with an address for
                                                                         service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Aloyse May,
                                                                         31 Grand-rue — appeal against the judgment of the Court
                  (Language of the case: Greek)                          of First Instance of the European Communities (Third
                                                                         Chamber ) of 15 December 1994 in Case T-489/93
                                                                         Unifruit Hellas v. Commission [ 1994] ECR 11-1201 ,
   (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be          seeking to have that judgment set aside, the other party to
          published in the European Court Reports)                       the proceedings being Commission of the European
                                                                         Communities (Agents: Xenophon Yataganas and
                                                                         Theofanis Christoforou ) — the Court ( Second Chamber ),
In Case C-109/95 : reference to the Court pursuant to
Article 177 of the EC Treaty by the Polimeles Protodikio,                composed of G. F. Mancini , President of the Chamber, G.
Athens, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings                      Hirsch ( Rapporteur ) and R. Schintgen, Judges; A. La
pending before that court between Astir AE and the Greek                 Pergola, Advocate-General ; R. Grass, Registrar, made an
State — on the interpretation of Articles 10 (4 ), 20 and 21             order on 5 February 1997, the operative part of which is
                                                                         as follows :
of Commission Regulation (EEC ) No 2730/79 of
29 November 1979 laying down common detailed rules
for the application of the system of export refunds on                   1 . The appeal is dismissed.
agricultural products (2) — the Court ( Second Chamber),
composed of: G. F. Mancini, President of the Chamber, G.                 2 . The applicant shall bear the costs.
Hirsch ( Rapporteur) and J. L. Murray, Judges; M. B.
Elmer,       Advocate-General;            D.  Louterman-Hubeau,
                                                                         (') OJ No C 119 , 13 . 5 . 1995 , p . 5 .
Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a
judgment on 13 March 1997, the operative part of which
is as follows :
Articles 10 (4), 20 and 21 of Commission Regulation
(EEC) No 2730179 of 29 November 1979 laying down                         Action on 14 February 1997 by the Commission of the
common detailed rules for the application of the system of               European Communities against Cascina Laura SAS di
export refunds on agricultural products must be                          Aldo Delbo e C. and Gariboldi Engineering Company SRL
interpreted as meaning that a trader is not entitled to an
                                                                                                    ( Case C-65/97)
export refund where the product concerned has perished
in transit as a result of force majeure, after leaving the                                            ( 97/C 131 /07 )
geographical territory of the Community, and where the
same rate of refund has been fixed for all non-member
countries, with the exception of one single country, for                 An action against Cascina Laura SAS Aldo Delbo e C. ,
which no refund has been fixed.                                          whose registered office is in Novara ( Italy), and Gariboldi
                                                                         Engineering Company SRL, whose registered office is in
                                                                         Milan (Italy ), was brought before the Court of Justice of
H OJ No C 137, 3 . 6 . 1995 , p . 14 .
( 2 ) OJ No L 317, 12 . 12 . 1979 , p . 1 .                              the European Communities on 14 February 1997 by the
                                                                         Commission of the European Communities, represented
                                                                         by Paolo Stancanelli of its Legal Service and Jean-Francis
                                                                         Pasquier, a national civil servant on detachment to that