Court of Justice of the EU brings down the final curtain on the air cargo appeals

The Court of Justice of the EU today handed down final judgment on appeals brought by various airlines against judgments of the General Court dismissing appeals against the European Commission’s 2017 decision finding a worldwide cartel, implemented in the EEA, between various airlines in relation to surcharges on cargo shipments and which operated between 1999 and 2006.  The Court of Justice dismissed all the appeals, bringing to an end EU competition proceedings that have lasted 20 years from the initial dawn raids in 2006.  Those dawn raids were followed by a previous decision of the Commission in 2010 that was annulled by the General Court in 2015 and then largely re-adopted by the Commission in 2017.  The appeals cover various points on the law relating to cartels and fines, including on the test for implementation of a cartel in the EEA and on the concept of a single and continuous infringement.

George Peretz KC and Josh Holmes KC acted for the European Commission in separate appeals. Both George and Josh are called to the Bar of Ireland and therefore hold full rights of audience before the EU Courts.