swarb.co.uk - law index
These cases are from the lawindexpro database. They are now being transferred to the swarb.co.uk website in a better form. As a case is published there, an entry here will link to it. The swarb.co.uk site includes many later cases.
Commercial - From: 1997 To: 1997
This page lists 20 cases, and was prepared on 20 May 2019.
MTV Europe v BMG Records (UK) Ltd [1997] EuLR 100
1997
CA
Sir Thomas Bingham MR
European, Commercial
The court recognised the difficulties of the European and national court investigating the same set of facts, and referred to "the extreme undesirability of inconsistent decisions as between the Commission, on one side, and national courts on the other", adding "It is not hard to understand the undesirability of such inconsistency which undermines legal authority, leaving parties in doubt as to where they stand, and infringes the integrity of the Community legal order."
1 Citers
Intertronic v Commission T-117/96; [1997] EUECJ T-117/96
19 Feb 1997
ECFI
Commercial
Complaint - Request to Commission to initiate proceedings for failure to fulfil obligations - Action for failure to act - Inadmissibility.
[ Bailii ]
MD Foods v Baines and others; Associated Dairies Ltd v Baines and Others [1997] 2 WLR 364; [1997] UKHL 7; [1997] AC 524; [1997] 1 All ER 833
27 Feb 1997
HL
Lord Goff of Chieveley, Lord Mustill, Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead, Lord Hoffmann, Lord Clyde
Commercial, Contract
The appellant dairy sold milk to the defendant roundsmen, each agreeing not to sell milk by retail to the others customers. The defendant began to buy his milk elsewhere, and claimed the agreement should have been registered as a restrictive trade practice. Held: The agreement did not come within the first exemption from registration. The Act applies to agreements and arrangements, however made ("any agreement or arrangement"), and whether legally enforceable or not. Registerability should depend upon substance not form. The result should not be determined by asking whether the condition was a term of or a restriction in the agreement. The test for registration under the Act should be as simple and clear as possible. The court discussed the danger of of over-literal interpretation of the language of a statute: "Linguistic arguments of this character should be handled warily. They are a legitimate and useful aid in statutory interpretation, but they are no more than this. Sometimes a difference in language is revealing and therefore important, other times not. In the process of statutory interpretation there always comes a stage, before reaching a final decision, when one should stand back and view a suggested interpretation in the wider context of the scheme and purpose of the Act. After all, the object of the exercise is to elucidate the intention fairly and reasonably attributable to Parliament when using the language under consideration."
Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976
1 Cites
1 Citers
[ House of Lords ] - [ Bailii ]
Guerin Automobiles v Commission C-282/95; [1997] EUECJ C-282/95P
18 Mar 1997
ECJ
Commercial
(Judgment) Appeal - Competition - Complaint - Action for failure to act - Notification under Article 6 of Regulation No 99/63/EEC - Definition of a position terminating the failure to act - Cross-appeal limited to costs.
[ Bailii ]
Cali and Figli v Servizi Ecologici Porto di Genova C-343/95; [1997] EUECJ C-343/95
18 Mar 1997
ECJ
Environment, Commercial
(Judgment) Harbour company - Prevention of pollution - Legal monopoly - Abuse of a dominant position.
[ Bailii ]
Greenalls Management Limited v Canavan Times, 19 May 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 1551
29 Apr 1997
CA
Litigation Practice, Commercial
An appellant should notify the respondent if wishes to apply again for leave to add further grounds of appeal.
1 Cites
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
Rotexchemie v Hauptzollamt Hamburg-Waltershof C-26/96; [1997] EUECJ C-26/96
29 May 1997
ECJ
Commercial, Customs and Excise
(Judgment) 1 Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Dumping margin - Determination of the normal value - Imports from non-market economy countries - Choice of a reference country - Discretion of the institutions - Judicial review - Limits (Council Regulation No 2176/84, Art. 2(5)(a))
2 Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Dumping margin - Determination of the normal value - Imports from non-market economy countries - Reference to the price in a market-economy non-member country - Determination in an appropriate and not unreasonable manner - Criteria to be used in the choice of a reference country (Council Regulations No 2176/84, Art. 2(5)(a), and No 1531/88)
3 Although the choice, under Article 2(5)(a) of the basic anti-dumping regulation (No 2176), of the reference country to be used in order to determine the normal value of products from non-market economy countries falls within the discretion enjoyed by the institutions when analysing complex economic situations, the exercise of that discretion is not exempt from judicial review by the Court. In reviewing the exercise of that discretion, the Court is to verify whether the relevant procedural rules have been complied with, whether the facts on which the choice is based have been accurately stated and whether there has been a manifest error of appraisal or a misuse of powers. As regards the choice of reference country, that means that the Court is to verify whether the institutions neglected to take account of essential factors for the purpose of establishing the appropriateness of the country chosen and whether the information contained in the documents in the case was considered with all the care required for the view to be taken that the normal value was determined in an appropriate and not unreasonable manner.
4 It is possible to conclude that the normal value of products originating in a non-market economy country was determined by reference to the price in a market-economy non-member country `in an appropriate and not unreasonable manner' within the meaning of Article 2(5)(a) of Regulation No 2176/84 where, first, the institutions did not receive any alternative proposal to their choice of reference country in circumstances where that country had already been chosen in an earlier proceeding concerning the same product, and where the traders concerned would not have failed, had they considered it necessary, to suggest a more appropriate country, and, secondly, those institutions have convincingly explained their reasons for not opting for other possible reference countries, without the applicant adducing any evidence capable of casting doubt on their analysis. For that reason, Regulation No 1531/88 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of potassium permanganate originating in the People's Republic of China and definitively collecting the provisional anti-dumping duty imposed on those imports is to be held valid.
[ Bailii ]
Commission v France C-311/96 [1997] EUECJ C-311/96
29 May 1997
ECJ
Commercial, Utilities
(Judgment) Member States - Obligations - Implementation of directives - Failure to fulfil obligations not contested (EC Treaty, Art. 169)
[ Bailii ]
Glencore Grain Rotterdam BV v Lebanese Organisation for International Commerce; CA 25-Jun-1997 - [1997] EWCA Civ 1958; [1997] 4 ALL ER 514; [1997] CLC 1274; [1997] 2 Lloyds Rep 386
AssiDoman Kraft Products and others v Commission T-227/95; [1997] EUECJ T-227/95
10 Jul 1997
ECFI
B Vesterdorf, P
European, Commercial
ECJ Competition - Consequences of partial annulment by the Court of Justice of a decision relating to a proceeding under Article 85 of the Treaty - Effects of the judgment on persons to whom the decision was addressed who did not bring an action for annulment - Article 176 of the Treaty - Request for partial refund of fines paid.
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
Dale Farm Dairy Group Ltd Trading As Northern Dairies v M Akram; C P Akram; David Ian Tinker and Clifford Tinker Trading As Holme Valley Farm [1997] EWCA Civ 2125
17 Jul 1997
CA
Contract, Commercial
[ Bailii ]
Ferriere Nord v Commission C-219/95; [1997] EUECJ C-219/95P; [1997] ECR I-4411
17 Jul 1997
ECJ
European, Commercial
ECJ Judgment - Competition - Infringement of Article 85 of the EEC Treaty
EEC Treaty 85
[ Bailii ]
Greenalls Management Limited v Canavan; CA 30-Jul-1997 - Times, 20 August 1997; [1997] EWCA Civ 2240; [1998] EuLR 507
Regina v Medicines Control Agency ex parte Rhone Poulenc Rorer Limited; May and Baker Limited [1997] EWHC Admin 750
31 Jul 1997
Admn
Tucker J
Health, Commercial
Medicines Act 1968
[ Bailii ]
Criminal proceedings against Amelynck and others [1997] EUECJ C-237/96
25 Sep 1997
ECJ
Commercial
ECJ (Judgment) Free movement of goods - Community transit - Proof of the Community status of goods
[ Bailii ]
Morris and others v Rayners Enterprises Incorporated and Another; HL 30-Oct-1997 - Gazette, 01 April 1998; Times, 13 November 1997; [1997] UKHL 44
Commission and France v Ladbroke Racing C-359/95; [1997] EUECJ C-359/95P
11 Nov 1997
ECJ
European, Commercial
ECJ (Judgment) Competition - Articles 85, 86 and 90 of the EC Treaty - Rejection of a complaint concerning both State measures and private conduct - Applicability of Articles 85 and 86 to undertakings complying with national legislation)
[ Bailii ]
Ajinomoto and The NutraSweet Company v Council T-159/94; [1997] EUECJ T-159/94
18 Dec 1997
ECFI
R. Garcia-Valdecasas, P
European, Commercial, Natural Justice
ECJ 1 Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Anti-dumping procedure - Right to a fair hearing of the undertaking alleged to have engaged in dumping - Institutions' duty to provide information - Scope
(Council Regulation No 2423/88, Art. 7(4))
2 Actions for annulment - Pleas in law - Actions against a Council regulation imposing definitive anti-dumping duties - Consideration to be given to a defect vitiating the procedure for the adoption of the Commission regulation imposing provisional anti-dumping duties - Criteria
(Council Regulation No 2423/88, Art. 7(4))
3 Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Dumping margin - Determination of normal value - Price charged in normal commercial transactions - Product protected by a patent - Consideration to be given to the market structure or the level of competition in the country of export - None
(Council Regulation No 2423/88, Art. 2(3))
4 Acts of the institutions - Statement of reasons - Obligation - Scope
(EC Treaty, Art. 190)
5 Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Imposition of anti-dumping duties - Criteria - Injury and causal link - Community industry at the start-up stage also faced with problems not connected with dumping - Method of calculating duty - Discretion of the institutions
(Council Regulation No 2423/88, Arts 2(4), 4 and 13)
6 Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Dumping margin - Determination of normal value - Product exported to the Community from an intermediate country
(Council Regulation No 2423/88, Art. 2(6))
7 It is a fundamental principle of Community law that the right to a fair hearing must be respected. In the field of protection against dumped imports, that right is specified in Article 7(1) and (4) of the basic anti-dumping regulation, Regulation No 2423/88, as a right to information which must be reconciled with the Community institutions' obligation to maintain the confidentiality of business secrets.
In that regard, the undertakings concerned should have been placed in a position during the administrative procedure in which they could effectively make known their views on the correctness and relevance of the facts and circumstances alleged and on the evidence relied on by the Commission in support of its allegation concerning the existence of dumping and the resultant injury, not later than during the procedure for the adoption of the Council regulation.
Since Article 7(4)(c)(i) of the basic anti-dumping regulation provides that requests for information made pursuant to Article 7(4)(b) must be in writing and must specify the particular issues on which information is sought, the sufficiency of the information provided by the Community institutions must be assessed in relation to how specific the request for information was. For the purposes of determining whether the Community institutions have fulfilled their obligation to provide information, regard must be had, in the circumstances of the case, to the special characteristics of the market, the knowledge of that market which the undertakings concerned possess and their ability, on the basis of that knowledge, to request such relevant details as they may require.
8 Where, in the procedure leading to the adoption of a regulation imposing provisional anti-dumping duties, the Commission fails to respect the right to a fair hearing of the undertakings alleged to have engaged in the dumping, that failure cannot in itself have the effect of vitiating the Council regulation imposing definitive duties. Such a regulation is distinct from the regulation imposing provisional duties, even if it is so closely connected with the latter that it may, in certain circumstances, take its place; consequently, its validity must be assessed in relation to the rules applying at the time of its adoption. Where, in the course of the procedure leading to the adoption of a regulation imposing a definitive duty, steps are taken to remedy a defect vitiating the adoption of the corresponding regulation imposing a provisional duty, the illegality of the provisional regulation does not render the definitive regulation illegal. Only in so far as the defect has not been remedied, and in so far as the definitive regulation refers to the provisional regulation, will the illegality of the earlier regulation render the later one illegal.
9 There is nothing in the wording of the basic anti-dumping regulation which indicates that the imposition of anti-dumping duties is dependent on any factor other than an injurious price differentiation as between the prices charged in the domestic market and those charged in the export market.
The criteria of the market structure or the level of competition are not in themselves decisive for the purposes of applying a constructed normal value rather than a normal value based on actual prices, where the latter are the result of market forces. Consequently, in determining the normal value of the dumped product on the basis of the prices charged in the country of export, where that product is protected by a patent, the Community institutions did not commit an error of law or a manifest error of assessment of the facts.
10 The statement of reasons required by Article 190 of the Treaty must disclose in a clear and unequivocal fashion the reasoning followed by the Community authority which adopted the measure in question in such a way as to make the persons concerned aware of the reasons for the measure and thus enable them to defend their rights, and to enable the Community judicature to exercise its power of review.
11 The fact that a Community producer is facing difficulties, whether or not attributable in part to causes other than dumping, is not a reason for depriving that producer of all protection against the injury caused by the dumping. It follows that the imposition of an anti-dumping duty cannot be contested on the ground that the difficulties faced by the Community industry are due in part to the fact that that industry is at the start-up stage.
Nor can it be claimed that the Community institutions exceeded their discretion by determining the reference price, that is to say, the minimum price at which the product must be imported into the Community if the Community industry is not to suffer injury, and the amount of the anti-dumping duty on the basis of the Community producer's production costs during the start-up phase, even where those costs are approximately twice as high as those of the exporting undertakings.
12 Where a product is not imported directly from the country of origin but is exported to the Community from an intermediate country, Article 2(6) of the basic anti-dumping regulation confers on the Community institutions a wide margin of appreciation as to whether to use either the price paid or payable on the market of the country of export or the price paid or payable on the market of the country of origin, provided that the price used is comparable.
In that regard, the criteria which allow the Community institutions, pursuant to that provision, to use the prices prevailing in the country of origin are not fulfilled where the dumped product was not merely transhipped through an intermediate country prior to being imported into the Community but was sold to an economic operator in that intermediate country and was partly transformed and repackaged.
[ Bailii ]
European Information Technology Observatory, Europaische Wirtschaftliche Interessenvereinigung Case C-402/96
18 Dec 1997
ECJ
European, Commercial
Europa Reference for a preliminary ruling: Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt am Main -Germany. European Economic Interest Grouping - Business name
Regina v Licensing Authority Established By Medicines Act 1968 (Acting By Medicines Control Agency) ex parte Rhone Poulenc Rorer Limited; May and Baker Limited; Admn 23-Dec-1997 - [1997] EWHC Admin 1176
