European Court of Justice (News)

Curto v Parliament
Staff Regulations of Officials
The General Court orders the European Parliament and the EIB to each pay €10 000 in damages to members of staff who have suffered psychological harassment

The Goldman Sachs Group v Commission
Competition
The General Court confirms the fines of over €300 million that the Commission imposed on the main European and Asian producers of (extra) high voltage power cables for their participation in a worldwide cartel

Tjebbes and Others
Citizenship of the Union
Advocate General Mengozzi proposes that the Court should rule that the automatic loss of Netherlands nationality, which leads to the loss of citizenship of the EU, for minors living outside the EU is incompatible with EU law

Banger
Citizenship of the Union
Where an EU citizen returns to his Member State of origin, that Member State must facilitate the entry and residence of the non-EU partner with whom that citizen has a durable relationship

Austria v Commission
State aid
The General Court confirms the decision by which the Commission approved the aid provided by the UK in favour of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station

Jehovan todistajat
PDON
A religious community, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, is a controller, jointly with its members who engage in preaching, for the processing of personal data carried out by the latter in the context of door-to-door preaching

Generalstaatsanwaltschaft (Conditions de détention en Hongrie)
DFON
Advocate General Campos Sánchez-Bordona proposes that the Court should rule that the existence, in the State issuing a European arrest warrant, of judicial remedies against possible inhuman or degrading treatment is a relevant factor allowing such a risk to be discounted and that, consequently, there are, in principle, no exceptional circumstances capable of justifying the non-execution of that arrest warrant

Kuhn
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Advocate General Bot proposes that the Court of Justice rule that the ‘Brussels Ia’ Regulation is not applicable in determining which Member State’s courts have jurisdiction to rule on claims brought against the Greek State by an individual holding Greek sovereign bonds following their forced exchange in exceptional circumstances and under exceptional conditions

Wirth and Others
Transport
In the case of long delay of a flight, the air company which must pay the compensation owed to passengers is not the air company which leased the aircraft and its crew, but the air company which decided to perform the flight

Planta Tabak
Freedom of establishment
Advocate General Saugmandsgaard Øe proposes that the Court rule that the broad prohibition on the sale of tobacco products with characterising flavours complies with the principle of equal treatment

Commission v Slovakia
Law governing the institutions
For having delayed in implementing EU law on the landfill of waste, Slovakia is fined a lump sum of €1 000 000 and a penalty payment of €5 000 per day of delay

Keramag Keramische Werke and Others v Commission
Competition
The General Court upholds the fine of €57 million imposed on Sanitec Europe and its subsidiaries in the context of the cartel on the bathroom fixtures and fittings market

From 1 July 2018, requests for preliminary rulings involving natural persons will be anonymised

Minister for Justice and Equality
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
According to Advocate General Tanchev, the execution of a European arrest warrant must be postponed where the competent judicial authority finds not only that there is a real risk of flagrant denial of justice on account of deficiencies in the system of justice of the issuing Member State but also that the person who is the subject of the warrant is exposed to such a risk

C and A
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Advocate General Mengozzi proposes that the Court should rule that the Netherlands law requiring a person who already has the right to family reunification to pass a second civic integration examination in order to obtain an autonomous residence permit is incompatible with EU law.

Berlusconi and Fininvest
Freedom of establishment
Advocate General Campos Sánchez-Bordona proposes that the Court of Justice should declare that the EU Courts have exclusive jurisdiction to review the legality of ECB measures and of preparatory measures adopted in procedures for authorisation to acquire or increase qualifying holdings in banks

France.com v EUIPO - France (FRANCE.com)
Intellectual and industrial property
The sign ‘france.com’ cannot be registered as an EU trade mark

MB
SOPO
A person who has changed gender cannot be required to annul the marriage which he or she entered into before that change of gender in order to be entitled to receive a retirement pension at the age provided for persons of the sex which he or she has acquired

Commission v Malta
Environment and consumers
By adopting a certain derogation regime allowing the capture of seven species of wild birds, Malta has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law

M
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
According to Advocate General Wathelet, the provisions of the Qualification Directive allowing a Member State to refuse or to revoke refugee status are compatible with EU law