|
PARALLEL TEXTS
Nell’ambito del recupero di una penalità fissata dalla Corte, la Commissione non può pronunciarsi sulla conformità al diritto dell’Unione di una normativa nazionale che non sia stata esaminata in precedenza dalla Corte
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-14-1_en.htm
Italiano tratto da: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-14-1_it.htm
Data documento: 15-01-2014
1 |
In the context of recovery of a penalty payment set by the Court of Justice, the Commission cannot rule on the conformity with EU law of national legislation which the Court of Justice has not examined beforehand
|
Nell’ambito del recupero di una penalità fissata dalla Corte, la Commissione non può pronunciarsi sulla conformità al diritto dell’Unione di una normativa nazionale che non sia stata esaminata in precedenza dalla Corte
|
2 |
Such a discretion would encroach on the exclusive jurisdiction reserved to the Court of Justice
|
Un margine di valutazione siffatto sconfinerebbe nella competenza esclusiva della Corte
|
3 |
By judgment of 14 October 2004, the Court of Justice held that Portugal had failed to fulfil its obligations by not repealing its national legislation which made the award of damages to persons injured by a breach of EU law, in the field of public procurement, conditional on proof of fault or fraud.
|
Con sentenza del 14 ottobre 2004 , la Corte di giustizia ha dichiarato l’inadempimento del Portogallo ai propri obblighi per non aver abrogato la normativa nazionale che subordinava la concessione del risarcimento danni alle persone lese da una violazione del diritto dell’Unione alla prova della colpa o del dolo nel settore dei pubblici appalti .
|
4 |
Taking the view that Portugal had failed to comply with that judgment, the Commission brought a fresh action seeking imposition of a penalty payment.
|
Ritenendo che il Portogallo non si fosse conformato a tale sentenza, la Commissione ha proposto un nuovo ricorso chiedendo la fissazione di una penalità.
|
5 |
By its judgment of 10 January 2008, the Court of Justice held that Portugal had not complied with its first judgment of 2004, as the Portuguese legislation had not been repealed by the end of the period prescribed by the Commission.
|
Con sentenza del 10 gennaio 2008 , la Corte ha dichiarato che il Portogallo non si era conformato alla sua prima sentenza del 2004, dato che la normativa portoghese non era stata abrogata allo scadere del termine impartito dalla Commissione.
|
6 |
The Court accordingly ordered Portugal to pay to the Commission a penalty payment of €19 392 for each day of delay in implementing the measures necessary to ensure compliance with the first judgment of 2004, with effect from the date of delivery of the second judgment, 10 January 2008.
|
Pertanto, la Corte ha condannato il Portogallo a pagare alla Commissione una penalità di EUR 19 392 per ogni giorno di ritardo nell’attuazione delle misure necessarie per conformarsi alla prima sentenza del 2004, a decorrere dalla pronuncia della seconda sentenza, il 10 gennaio 2008.
|
7 |
On 31 December 2007, that is to say, a few days before the 2008 judgment was delivered, Portugal adopted Law No 67/2007, which repealed the national legislation in question and put in place a new system of compensation for damage caused by the State.
|
Il 31 dicembre 2007, ossia qualche giorno prima della pronuncia della sentenza del 2008, il Portogallo ha adottato la legge n. 67/2007, che ha abrogato la normativa nazionale in questione e ha istituito un nuovo regime di risarcimento dei danni causati dallo Stato.
|
8 |
That law came into force on 30 January 2008.
|
Tale legge è entrata in vigore il 30 gennaio 2008.
|
9 |
The Commission, however, took the view that that law did not constitute an adequate and complete measure to ensure compliance with the 2004 judgment.
|
La Commissione ha tuttavia ritenuto che essa non costituisse una misura di esecuzione adeguata e completa della sentenza del 2004.
|
10 |
In order to avoid prolonging the dispute, Portugal subsequently adopted Law No 31/2008 amending Law No 67/2007, while maintaining that Law No 67/2007 contained all the measures necessary to ensure compliance with the 2004 judgment.
|
Onde evitare il protrarsi della controversia, il Portogallo ha allora adottato la legge n. 31/2008, recante modifica della legge n. 67/2007, pur considerando che la legge n. 67/2007 contenesse tutte le misure necessarie per dare esecuzione alla sentenza del 2004.
|
11 |
Law No 31/2008 came into force on 18 July 2008.
|
La legge n.31/2008 è entrata in vigore il 18 luglio 2008.
|
12 |
In the context of the proceedings for recovery of the penalty payment set by the Court of Justice, the Commission took the view that Law No 67/2007 did not constitute adequate compliance with the 2004 judgment.
|
Nell’ambito del procedimento di recupero della penalità inflitta dalla Corte, la Commissione ha ritenuto che la legge n. 67/2007 non costituisse un’esecuzione adeguata della sentenza del 2004.
|
13 |
In its view, Portugal had complied with that judgment only when it adopted Law No 31/2008.
|
A suo avviso, il Portogallo si era conformato alla sentenza della Corte solamente con l’adozione della legge n. 31/2008.
|
14 |
Accordingly, in its decision of 25 November 2008, the Commission determined that the daily penalty payment was payable up to 17 July 2008, the day before Law No 31/2008 came into force.
|
Pertanto, nella sua decisione del 25 novembre 2008, la Commissione ha fissato l’importo totale della penalità giornaliera calcolandolo fino al 17 luglio 2008, vigilia dell’entrata in vigore di quest’ultima legge.
|
15 |
Portugal then brought an action before the General Court against that decision of the Commission.
|
Il Portogallo ha allora proposto ricorso dinanzi al Tribunale avverso tale decisione della Commissione.
|
16 |
By judgment of 29 March 2011, the General Court annulled the decision.
|
Con sentenza del 29 marzo 2011 , il Tribunale ha annullato la decisione.
|
17 |
It held that the assessment of the content of new legislation adopted by a Member State with a view to complying with a judgment of the Court of Justice delivered pursuant to Article 260(2) TFEU comes in all cases within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Justice and must, if there is a disagreement between the Commission and that Member State, be the subject of a fresh procedure.
|
Esso ha dichiarato che la valutazione del contenuto di una nuova normativa adottata da uno Stato membro per dare esecuzione ad una sentenza pronunciata dalla Corte rientrerebbe sempre nell’esclusiva competenza della Corte e dovrebbe, in caso di disaccordo tra la Commissione e lo Stato membro, costituire oggetto di un nuovo procedimento.
|
18 |
The Commission has brought an appeal by which it seeks to have that judgment of the General Court set aside.
|
La Commissione ha proposto impugnazione per l’annullamento di tale sentenza del Tribunale .
|
19 |
By its judgment delivered today, the Court of Justice dismisses the appeal.
|
Con la sua odierna sentenza, la Corte respinge l’impugnazione.
|
20 |
The Court first points out that the procedure intended to induce a defaulting Member State to comply with a judgment establishing a failure to fulfil obligations must be regarded as a special judicial procedure for the enforcement of the Court’s judgments and, in other words, as a method of enforcement.
|
In via preliminare, la Corte ricorda che il procedimento diretto a indurre uno Stato membro inadempiente ad eseguire una sentenza per inadempimento deve essere considerato uno speciale procedimento giurisdizionale di esecuzione delle sentenze della Corte, in altri termini un mezzo di esecuzione.
|
21 |
Therefore, the Commission’s review of the measures adopted by that Member State for the purpose of complying with such a judgment and the recovery of any sums owed must be carried out having regard to the scope of the failure to fulfil obligations, as defined by the Court of Justice.
|
Pertanto, la verifica da parte della Commissione delle misure adottate da tale Stato per conformarvisi e la riscossione delle somme dovute devono essere effettuate tenendo conto della delimitazione dell’inadempimento, quale operata dalla Corte.
|
22 |
In the present case, it is clear both from the operative part of the 2004 judgment and from that of the 2008 judgment that the failure to fulfil obligations established by the Court relates to the failure to repeal national legislation.
|
Nella fattispecie, tanto dal dispositivo della sentenza del 2004 quanto da quello della sentenza del 2008 emerge che l’inadempimento constatato dalla Corte verte sull’omessa abrogazione di una normativa nazionale.
|
23 |
The Commission, however, took the view that Law No 67/2007, repealing the national legislation at issue, did not ensure proper compliance with the 2004 judgment.
|
La Commissione ha tuttavia considerato che la legge n. 67/2007, che ha abrogato la normativa nazionale di cui trattasi, non garantiva l’adeguata esecuzione della sentenza del 2004.
|
24 |
The Court considers that, in doing so, the Commission formed a view on the issue of the conformity of the new Portuguese law with EU law, even though that Portuguese law introduced a system of liability which was distinct from that of the repealed legislation and which the Court of Justice could not have examined beforehand.
|
La Corte ritiene che, in tal modo, la Commissione si sia pronunciata sulla questione della conformità della nuova legge portoghese al diritto dell’Unione, sebbene detta legge abbia introdotto un regime di responsabilità che era distinto da quello della norma abrogata e che non poteva essere stato esaminato in precedenza dalla Corte.
|
25 |
However, the Commission’s power of appraisal, in the context of compliance with a judgment of the Court of Justice, cannot be exercised in a manner which is prejudicial to the Court’s exclusive jurisdiction to rule on the conformity of national legislation with EU law.
|
Orbene, il potere di valutazione della Commissione nell’ambito dell’esecuzione di una sentenza della Corte non può essere esercitato in modo tale da pregiudicare la competenza esclusiva della Corte a statuire sulla conformità di una normativa nazionale al diritto dell’Unione.
|
26 |
Likewise, as was pointed out in the judgment under appeal, the General Court also cannot itself give a ruling on the Commission’s assessment as to whether compliance with a judgment establishing a failure to fulfil obligations can be achieved through a national practice or national legislation which has not previously been examined by the Court of Justice.
|
Parimenti, come rilevato nella sentenza impugnata, neppure il Tribunale può pronunciarsi sulla valutazione espressa dalla Commissione quanto all’idoneità di una prassi o di una normativa nazionale, che non siano state in precedenza esaminate dalla Corte, a garantire l’esecuzione di una sentenza per inadempimento.
|
27 |
Were it to do so, the General Court would, inevitably, be required to make a ruling as to whether that practice or national legislation was in conformity with EU law, thereby encroaching on the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Justice in that regard.
|
Se così facesse, infatti, il Tribunale sarebbe inevitabilmente indotto a pronunciarsi sulla conformità di una tale prassi o normativa al diritto dell’Unione, sconfinando quindi nella competenza esclusiva della Corte in materia.
|
28 |
It follows that, in the case where there is a difference between the Commission and the Member State concerned as to whether a national practice or national legislation which the Court of Justice has not examined beforehand is appropriate for ensuring compliance with such a judgment, the Commission cannot, by adopting a decision, resolve such a difference itself and draw from this the necessary inferences for the calculation of the penalty payment.
|
Ne consegue che, qualora sussista una controversia tra la Commissione e lo Stato membro in ordine all’idoneità, ad eseguire una sentenza per inadempimento, di una prassi o di una normativa nazionale, non precedentemente esaminate dalla Corte, la Commissione non può risolvere essa stessa tale controversia mediante l’adozione di una decisione e trarne le conseguenze del caso ai fini del calcolo della penalità.
|
29 |
An action for annulment may, admittedly, be brought against such a decision before the General Court, the judgment of which may be the subject of an appeal to the Court of Justice.
|
È vero che contro una tale decisione può essere proposto ricorso di annullamento dinanzi al Tribunale, e che la sentenza pronunciata da quest’ultimo è impugnabile dinanzi alla Corte.
|
30 |
However, the analysis that the General Court would carry out in such proceedings would place unwarranted restrictions on the possibility for the Court of Justice to reconsider findings of fact on which the General Court based its analysis, since the Court of Justice is not entitled to review such findings of fact in appeal proceedings.
|
Tuttavia, l’eventuale analisi compiuta dal Tribunale nell’ambito di un simile procedimento condurrebbe a limitare indebitamente la possibilità per la Corte di riesaminare gli accertamenti in fatto su cui il Tribunale ha fondato la propria analisi, dato che non spetta alla Corte esercitare il proprio sindacato sugli stessi nell’ambito di un’impugnazione.
|
31 |
In addition, allowing the Commission a greater margin of discretion would lead to a breach of the procedural rights of defence available to the Member States in infringement proceedings.
|
Inoltre, riconoscere alla Commissione un margine di valutazione più ampio condurrebbe a violare i diritti processuali della difesa di cui dispongono gli Stati membri nell’ambito dei procedimenti per inadempimento.
|
32 |
Such an interpretation would eliminate the pre-litigation stage, in which the Member State concerned has the opportunity to comply with its obligations or to present its case properly against the complaints set out by the Commission.
|
Infatti, ciò equivarrebbe a sopprimere la fase precontenziosa, in cui lo Stato membro ha l’opportunità di conformarsi ai propri obblighi o di sviluppare un’utile difesa contro gli addebiti formulati dalla Commissione.
|
33 |
It follows from the foregoing that, in the judgment under appeal, the General Court did not unduly limit the powers of the Commission in the verification of compliance by Portugal with the 2008 judgment or, consequently, its own jurisdiction in relation to the review of the Commission’s assessment in that regard.
|
Dalle suesposte considerazioni deriva che, nella sentenza impugnata, il Tribunale non ha indebitamente limitato le competenze della Commissione nell’ambito della verifica dell’esecuzione, da parte del Portogallo, della sentenza del 2008 né, di conseguenza, le proprie competenze di controllo della valutazione effettuata dalla Commissione a tale riguardo.
|
34 |
NOTE:
|
IMPORTANTE:
|
35 |
An appeal, on a point or points of law only, may be brought before the Court of Justice against a judgment or order of the General Court.
|
Avverso le sentenze o ordinanze del Tribunale può essere presentata impugnazione alla Corte di giustizia, limitatamente alle questioni di diritto.
|
36 |
In principle, the appeal does not have suspensive effect.
|
In linea di principio, l'impugnazione non ha effetti sospensivi.
|
37 |
If the appeal is admissible and well founded, the Court of Justice sets aside the judgment of the General Court.
|
Se essa è ricevibile e fondata, la Corte annulla la decisione del Tribunale.
|
38 |
Where the state of the proceedings so permits, the Court of Justice may itself give final judgment in the case.
|
Nel caso in cui la causa sia matura per essere decisa, la Corte stessa può pronunciarsi definitivamente sulla controversia;
|
39 |
Otherwise, it refers the case back to the General Court, which is bound by the decision given by the Court of Justice on the appeal. |
in caso contrario, rinvia la causa al Tribunale, vincolato dalla decisione emanata dalla Corte in sede di impugnazione. |
|
LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
In the context of recovery of a penalty payment set by the Court of
Justice, the Commission cannot rule on the conformity with EU law of national
legislation which the Court of Justice has not examined beforehand
Such a discretion would encroach on the exclusive jurisdiction reserved
to the Court of Justice
By judgment of 14 October 2004, the Court of Justice held that Portugal had
failed to fulfil its obligations by not repealing its national legislation which
made the award of damages to persons injured by a breach of EU law, in the field
of public procurement, conditional on proof of fault or fraud.
Taking the view that Portugal had failed to comply with that judgment, the
Commission brought a fresh action seeking imposition of a penalty payment.
By its judgment of 10 January 2008, the Court of Justice held that Portugal
had not complied with its first judgment of 2004, as the Portuguese legislation
had not been repealed by the end of the period prescribed by the Commission.
The Court accordingly ordered Portugal to pay to the Commission a penalty
payment of €19 392 for each day of delay in implementing the measures necessary
to ensure compliance with the first judgment of 2004, with effect from the date
of delivery of the second judgment, 10 January 2008.
On 31 December 2007, that is to say, a few days before the 2008 judgment was
delivered, Portugal adopted Law No 67/2007, which repealed the national
legislation in question and put in place a new system of compensation for damage
caused by the State.
That law came into force on 30 January 2008.
The Commission, however, took the view that that law did not constitute an
adequate and complete measure to ensure compliance with the 2004 judgment.
In order to avoid prolonging the dispute, Portugal subsequently adopted Law
No 31/2008 amending Law No 67/2007, while maintaining that Law No 67/2007
contained all the measures necessary to ensure compliance with the 2004
judgment.
Law No 31/2008 came into force on 18 July 2008.
In the context of the proceedings for recovery of the penalty payment set by
the Court of Justice, the Commission took the view that Law No 67/2007 did not
constitute adequate compliance with the 2004 judgment.
In its view, Portugal had complied with that judgment only when it adopted
Law No 31/2008.
Accordingly, in its decision of 25 November 2008, the Commission determined
that the daily penalty payment was payable up to 17 July 2008, the day before
Law No 31/2008 came into force.
Portugal then brought an action before the General Court against that
decision of the Commission.
By judgment of 29 March 2011, the General Court annulled the decision.
It held that the assessment of the content of new legislation adopted by a
Member State with a view to complying with a judgment of the Court of Justice
delivered pursuant to Article 260(2) TFEU comes in all cases within the
exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Justice and must, if there is a
disagreement between the Commission and that Member State, be the subject of a
fresh procedure.
The Commission has brought an appeal by which it seeks to have that judgment
of the General Court set aside.
By its judgment delivered today, the Court of Justice dismisses the appeal.
The Court first points out that the procedure intended to induce a defaulting
Member State to comply with a judgment establishing a failure to fulfil
obligations must be regarded as a special judicial procedure for the enforcement
of the Court’s judgments and, in other words, as a method of enforcement.
Therefore, the Commission’s review of the measures adopted by that Member
State for the purpose of complying with such a judgment and the recovery of any
sums owed must be carried out having regard to the scope of the failure to
fulfil obligations, as defined by the Court of Justice.
In the present case, it is clear both from the operative part of the 2004
judgment and from that of the 2008 judgment that the failure to fulfil
obligations established by the Court relates to the failure to repeal national
legislation.
The Commission, however, took the view that Law No 67/2007, repealing the
national legislation at issue, did not ensure proper compliance with the 2004
judgment.
The Court considers that, in doing so, the Commission formed a view on the
issue of the conformity of the new Portuguese law with EU law, even though that
Portuguese law introduced a system of liability which was distinct from that of
the repealed legislation and which the Court of Justice could not have examined
beforehand.
However, the Commission’s power of appraisal, in the context of compliance
with a judgment of the Court of Justice, cannot be exercised in a manner which
is prejudicial to the Court’s exclusive jurisdiction to rule on the conformity
of national legislation with EU law.
Likewise, as was pointed out in the judgment under appeal, the General Court
also cannot itself give a ruling on the Commission’s assessment as to whether
compliance with a judgment establishing a failure to fulfil obligations can be
achieved through a national practice or national legislation which has not
previously been examined by the Court of Justice.
Were it to do so, the General Court would, inevitably, be required to make a
ruling as to whether that practice or national legislation was in conformity
with EU law, thereby encroaching on the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of
Justice in that regard.
It follows that, in the case where there is a difference between the
Commission and the Member State concerned as to whether a national practice or
national legislation which the Court of Justice has not examined beforehand is
appropriate for ensuring compliance with such a judgment, the Commission cannot,
by adopting a decision, resolve such a difference itself and draw from this the
necessary inferences for the calculation of the penalty payment.
An action for annulment may, admittedly, be brought against such a decision
before the General Court, the judgment of which may be the subject of an appeal
to the Court of Justice.
However, the analysis that the General Court would carry out in such
proceedings would place unwarranted restrictions on the possibility for the
Court of Justice to reconsider findings of fact on which the General Court based
its analysis, since the Court of Justice is not entitled to review such findings
of fact in appeal proceedings.
In addition, allowing the Commission a greater margin of discretion would
lead to a breach of the procedural rights of defence available to the Member
States in infringement proceedings.
Such an interpretation would eliminate the pre-litigation stage, in which the
Member State concerned has the opportunity to comply with its obligations or to
present its case properly against the complaints set out by the Commission.
It follows from the foregoing that, in the judgment under appeal, the General
Court did not unduly limit the powers of the Commission in the verification of
compliance by Portugal with the 2008 judgment or, consequently, its own
jurisdiction in relation to the review of the Commission’s assessment in that
regard.
NOTE:
An appeal, on a point or points of law only, may be brought before the Court
of Justice against a judgment or order of the General Court.
In principle, the appeal does not have suspensive effect.
If the appeal is admissible and well founded, the Court of Justice sets aside
the judgment of the General Court.
Where the state of the proceedings so permits, the Court of Justice may
itself give final judgment in the case.
Otherwise, it refers the case back to the General Court, which is bound by
the decision given by the Court of Justice on the appeal.
|