Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 9 April 2019.Qualcomm, Inc. and Qualcomm Europe, Inc. v European Commission.Competition — Market for baseband chipsets used in consumer electronic devices — Administrative procedure — Article 18(3) and Article 24(1)(d) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 — Decision requesting information — Obligation to state reasons — Necessity of the information requested — Proportionality — Burden of proof — Privilege against self-incrimination — Principle of good administration.Case T-371/17.

Judgment // 09/04/2019 // 4 min read
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Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 9 April 2019 –Qualcomm and Qualcomm Europe v Commission

(Case T‑371/17)

(Competition — Market for baseband chipsets used in consumer electronic devices — Administrative procedure — Article 18(3) and Article 24(1)(d) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 — Decision requesting information — Obligation to state reasons — Necessity of the information requested — Proportionality — Burden of proof — Privilege against self-incrimination — Principle of good administration)

  1. Judicial proceedings — Production of evidence — Time limit — Evidence lodged out of time — Conditions

(Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 85(1) and (2))

(see paras 26, 27)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Indication of the legal basis and the purpose of the request — Scope — Infringement of the duty to state reasons — None

(Art. 102 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 54; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3))

(see paras 37-56)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Indication of the legal basis and the purpose of the request — Requirement of a necessary link between the information requested and the infringement investigated — Commission’s margin of discretion — Judicial review — Scope

(Art. 102 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 54; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3))

(see paras 60-62, 99, 118)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Time at which the Commission may send that request — Time following the sending of the statement of objections — Circumstance not calling into question the necessity of the information requested

(Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(2) and (3))

(see paras 68-76, 79, 101, 103)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Powers of the Commission — Limit — Observance of the principle of proportionality — Significant workload allocated to the company — Assessment of proportionality

(Art. 102 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 54; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3))

(see paras 119-128)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Powers of the Commission — Power to issue a request involving the marshalling of the information sought — Limits

(Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3))

(see para. 131)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — General duty of care attaching to undertakings or associations of undertakings — Requirement to ensure the proper safekeeping of elements making it possible to trace their activity

(Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3))

(see para. 136)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Powers of the Commission — Limit — Observance of the principle of proportionality — Request for information already in the possession of the Commission — Infringement of the said principle — Request for further clarification of information previously supplied — Lawfulness

(Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3))

(see paras 138-141)

  1. Action for annulment — Actionable measures — Concept — Measures producing binding legal effects — Decision imposing a periodic penalty payment and a decision definitively fixing the amount thereof — Distinction

(Council Regulations No 17, Art. 16 and No 1/2003, Arts 18(3) and 24(1) and (2))

(see paras 153-159)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Powers of the Commission — Limit — Observance of the principle of proportionality — Time-limit for reply notified to the undertaking — Assessment of proportionality

(Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3))

(see paras 162-165)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Rights of defence — Absolute right to silence –None — Right to refuse to provide an answer implying recognition of the existence of an infringement — Questions inviting an undertaking to provide information relating to facts known to it which may be used to establish the existence of anti-competitive behaviour

(Art. 102 TFEU; EEA Agreement, Art. 54; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 48(2); Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18)

(see paras 179-185, 188, 191)

Re:

Application pursuant to Article 263 TFEU for annulment of Commission Decision C(2017) 2258 final of 31 March 2017 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 18(3) and to Article 24(1) (d) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 (Case AT.39711 — Qualcomm (predation)).

Operative part

The Court:

  1. Dismisses the action;

  2. Orders Qualcomm, Inc. and Qualcomm Europe, Inc. to pay the costs, including those of the interim proceedings.

Competition