Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 30 January 2020.České dráhy a.s. v European Commission.Appeal — Competition — Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 — Article 20(4) — Inspection decisions — Duty to state reasons — Reasonable grounds for finding an infringement of competition rules — Evidence lawfully gathered — Inspection ordered on the basis of evidence obtained from a previous inspection.Joined Cases C-538/18 P and C-539/18 P.

Judgment // 30/01/2020 // 2 min read
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Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 30 January 2020 — České dráhy v Commission

(Joined Cases C‑538/18 P and C‑539/18 P) ( 1 )

(Appeal — Competition — Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 — Article 20(4) — Inspection decisions — Duty to state reasons — Reasonable grounds for finding an infringement of competition rules — Evidence lawfully gathered — Inspection ordered on the basis of evidence obtained from a previous inspection)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission’s power of inspection — Decision ordering an inspection — Obligation to state reasons — Scope — Duty to specify the subject matter and purpose of the inspection — Duty to integrate the information received by a national authority in the context of an inquiry initiated on the basis of national law — Not included — Clear indication of the evidence suggesting an infringement — Duty to make a legal categorisation of the assumed infringements — None

(Arts 102 and 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 20(4))

(see paras 40-50, 62)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission’s power of inspection — Use of an inspection decision — Discretion of the Commission — Limits — Observance of the principle of proportionality — Clear indication of the evidence suggesting an infringement — Duty to assess all exculpatory evidence — None

(Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 20(4))

(see paras 63-65)

  1. Competition — Dominant position — Abuse — Meaning — Conduct having a restrictive effect on competition —Implementation of a exclusionary tariff strategy — Included —Lack of actual results on competitors — Irrelevant

(Art. 102 TFEU)

(see paras 66-70)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission’s power of inspection — Decision ordering an inspection — Obligation to state reasons — Scope — Obligation to identify precisely the relevant market — Duty to show that the effect on trade between Member States is appreciable — None

(Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 20(4))

(see paras 80-83)

  1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission’s power of inspection — Scope and limits — Inspection covering the practice of predatory pricing of a dominant undertaking — Review of documents relating to the costs and strategy of the undertaking — Whether permissible

(Art. 102 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 20)

(see paras 99-104)

Operative part

The Court:

  1. dismisses the appeals;

  2. orders České dráhy a.s. to pay the costs.

( 1 ) OJ C 392, 29.10.2018.

Dominant position , Competition