European Court of Justice (News)

Kreissparkasse Saarlouis
Environment and consumers
Consumer credit agreements must specify clearly and concisely how the withdrawal period is to be calculated

Miasto Łowicz
Law governing the institutions
The Court declares that the requests for a preliminary ruling concerning Polish measures from 2017 establishing a disciplinary procedure regime for judges are inadmissible.

Entry into office of a new Advocate General at the Court of Justice

Sánchez Ruiz
SOPO
The Member States may not exclude from the concept of ‘successive fixed-term employment relationships’ the situation of a worker who occupies continuously, by virtue of several appointments, an interim post in the absence of a competition procedure, his or her employment relationship having been thereby implicitly extended from year to year

"AGRO IN 2001"
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
EU law does not preclude Member States from providing for civil proceedings for confiscation which are unrelated to a finding of a criminal offence

Covid-19: the Court of Justice of the European Union takes steps to ensure continuity in the handling of cases and to help to fight the spread of the epidemic

Finnair
Transport
An air passenger who is compensated for the cancellation of a flight and who has agreed to travel on an alternative flight is entitled to compensation for a delay in the re-routing flight.

Valencia Club de Fútbol v Commission
State aid
The General Court annuls the Commission’s decision on aid measures implemented in favour of the Spanish football clubs Valencia CF et Elche CF

Commission v Italy (Aides illégales au secteur hôtelier en Sardaigne)
State aid
Italy is ordered to pay pecuniary penalties for failing to recover aid unlawfully granted to the hotel industry in Sardinia

Lintner
Environment and consumers
A court before which a consumer claims that certain contractual terms are unfair is required to review, of its own motion, other terms of the contract insofar as they are connected to the subject matter of the dispute before it

Foundation for the Protection of the Traditional Cheese of Cyprus named Halloumi v EUIPO
Intellectual and industrial property
The Court of Justice sets aside the judgment of the General Court according to which the collective mark HALLOUMI, reserved for Cypriot cheesemakers, does not preclude the sign ‘BBQLOUMI’ from being registered as a European Union trade mark for cheese of a Bulgarian producer

Commission v Hungary (Enseignement supérieur)
Freedom of establishment
In the opinion of Advocate General Kokott, Hungary must treat foreign and national higher education institutions equally

Junqueras i Vies v Parliament
Law governing the institutions
The Vice-President of the General Court of the European Union dismisses the application of Mr Junqueras i Vies for interim measures

X (Mandat d'arrêt européen - Double incrimination)
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
In order to ascertain whether the European arrest warrant against a person convicted in Spain for the offence of glorification of terrorism and humiliation of the victims of terrorism must be executed without examining whether that offence is punishable also in Belgium, the Belgian courts must take into account the length of the sentence imposed by the Spanish law applicable to the acts committed

Gómez del Moral Guasch
Approximation of laws
The Spanish courts must verify that the contractual term in mortgage loan agreements providing for the application of a variable interest rate based on the index of the Spanish savings banks is plain and intelligible

Google Ireland
DISC
The system of penalties relating to the Hungarian tax on advertising is not compatible with EU law

Vodafone Magyarország
State aid
The special taxes levied in Hungary on the turnover of telecommunications operators and of undertakings in the retail trade sector are compatible with EU law

Cases brought before the Court of Justice: new practice directions to parties

Commission v Greece (Pollution par les nitrates)
Environment and consumers
Greece is ordered to pay a lump sum of 3.5 million euros for having been slow in implementing EU law on the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources

Constantin Film Produktion v EUIPO
Intellectual and industrial property
EUIPO must give a fresh decision on the application made by Constantin Film for registration of the sign Fack Ju Göhte as an EU trade mark