Ocean carriers win another legal case against EC

Ocean carriers win another legal case against EC    The European Court of Justice has upheld a decision of a lower court rejecting the case for fines imposed by the European Commission in 2000 against 14 shipping lines engaged in the Far East Trade Tariff Charges and Surcharges Agreement.
   In its Oct. 28 judgement, which has just been published, Europe’s highest court dismissed the EC’s appeal of an earlier decision of the Court of First Instance that sided with carriers, and ordered the commission to pay the shipping lines’ costs. The EC cannot appeal the ruling of the European Court of Justice.
   As with other legal disputes between the EC and container shipping lines, the case dragged over nearly a decade through the different layers of administrative and court procedures.
   The EC investigated the Far East Trade Tariff Charges and Surcharges Agreement case in the mid-1990’s, alleging that it allowed conference and non-conference carriers in the Asia-Europe liner trade to agree on joint surcharges. Fines were imposed in 2000.
   The shipping lines involved in the case were CMA CGM, Evergreen, Hanjin Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, “K” Line, Malaysia International Shipping Corp., MOL, Neptune Orient Lines, NYK Line, OOCL, P&O Nedlloyd, Yang Ming, Senator and Cho Yang (now liquidated).
   The European Court of Justice said that the reasons cited by the EC to appeal the decision of the lower court “are clearly inadmissible and clearly unfounded.”
   The latest court judgement represents a legal victory for shipping lines and another blow for the EC, which has already seen its fines against the Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement and the Far Eastern Freight Conference canceled by the courts.