CELEX: C1995/189/36
Language: en
Date: 1995-07-22 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 28 April 1995 by International Express Carriers Conference (IECC) against the Commission of the European Communities (Case T-110/95)

22 . 7. 95            EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 189/17
Article 1 of the Decision — the President of the Court of                On 23 November 1994, after a protracted procedure, the
First Instance made an order on 12 May 1995 the operative                applicant, pursuant to Article 175 of the EC Treaty, called
part of which is as follows :                                            on the Commission to act, and to adopt a definitive position
                                                                         on the complaint as far as Article 85 was concerned . On
                                                                         15 February 1 995 , not having received any decision from
 1 , the applications for interim measures are dismissed;                the Commission, the applicant brought before the Court of
                                                                         First Instance an action pursuant to Article 175 of the Treaty
2,    the costs are reserved.                                            against the Commission for failure to act ( Case T-28/95 ).
                                                                         On 17 February 1 995 , the Commission adopted Decision
                                                                         SG(95 ) D/1790 rejecting, as regards Article 85 of the EC
 0 ) OJ No L 354 , 31 . 12 . 1994 .                                      Treaty, the complaint submitted by the applicant (the
                                                                         contested decision ).
                                                                         The applicant submits that the contested Decision must be
                                                                         annulled for the following reasons :
Action brought on 28 April 1995 by International Express
Carriers Conference (IECC ) against the Commission of the                — infringement of Article 85 ( 1 ) of the EC Treaty, in that
                    European Communities                                     the Commission exceeded its discretion, committing
                                                                             an error of law in not condemning a blatantly
                        ( Case T-110/95 )                                    anti-competitive agreement,
                          ( 95/C 189/36 )
                                                                         — infringement of Article 4 ( 1 ) of Regulation No 17/62 of
                (Language of the case: English)                              Article 85 ( 3 ) of the EC Treaty, in that the Commission
                                                                             granted a de facto exemption from the competition rules
An action against the Commission of the European                             even though it failed to comply with the conditions
Communities was brought before the Court of First                            relating to form and to substance set out in those
Instance of the European Communities on 28 April 1995 by                     provisions,
International Express Carriers Conference ( IECC ),
represented by Eric Morgan de Rivery and Jacques Derene,                 — breach of certain rules of law relating to the application
with an address for service in Luxembourg at the Chambers                    of the EC Treaty, in that the Commission committed
of Alex Schmitt, Bonn & Schmitt, 62 Avenue Guillaume,                        errors of law and manifest errors of appraisal of the facts
L-1650 Luxembourg.                                                           of the case in implementing the legal principles
                                                                             expounded by the Court of First Instance, inasmuch as,
The applicant claims that the Court should :                                 in the circumstances of this case, the Commission was
                                                                             not entitled to rely upon the Community interest in
— annul Commission Decision SG(95 ) D/1790 of                                order to reject the complaint, or, if it is entitled to do so,
     17 February 1995 ( Case No EV/32.791 — Remail ),                        it exercised that right incorrectly,
— order such further or other relief as the Court considers             — misuse of powers, in that the Commission's main
     appropriate in order for the Commission to comply with                  purpose in rejecting the complaint was in fact to attain
     Article 176 of the EC Treaty,                                           political objectives,
— order the Commission to pay the costs .
                                                                        — infringement of Article 190 of the EC Treaty, in that the
                                                                             Commission failed in its decision to give adequate
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                          reasons as to the alleged lack of Community interest in
                                                                             the adoption of a decision imposing a prohibition and as
The applicant, a professional organization composed of                       to the proposition that the positive effects of the Reims
certain important private express companies, filed with the                  agreement would be hampered by such a decision,
Commission, on 13 July 1988 , a complaint under
Article 3 ( 2 ) of Regulation No 17/62 concerning the
infringement ( i ) of Article 85 ( 1 ) of the EC Treaty by certain      — breach of certain general principles of Community law,
European public postal operators and ( ii ) of Article 86 of the             in that, in adopting the decision, the Commission
Treaty by two post offices which relied upon a market                        violated the principles of legal certainty and of the
allocation    scheme     set   out     in  the  Universal   Postal           protection of legitimate expectations, the principle of
Convention. The conduct in question of the post offices                      non-discrimination, the principle of proportionality and
named in the complaint was designed to suppress or restrain                  the principle of sound administration.
'remail' competition, a practice whereby a mailer prepares
international mail in one country but posts the mail not with
the post office of that country but with a post office located
in another country.