In case CJEU, C-510/23, Trenitalia v. Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, the Court of Justice took a stand on the necessity to ensure that time limits enshrined in national procedural laws concerning administrative proceedings shall not impair the ability of effectively tackling anti-competitive or anti-consumer behavior.
The case concerns a sanction addressed by the AGCM, the Italian consumer and market authority, to Trenitalia, the primary Italian rail transport company. Trenitalia challenged the decision in court, claiming that the Authority did not respect the 90-day time limit prescribed by Italian law to start the proceedings. This infringement would lead to the annulment of the sanction imposed to Trenitalia for unlawful behavior. The administrative tribunal of the Lazio region referred therefore to the Court of Justice the question on whether this Italian legal provision was compliant with EU law; and specifically, with Articles 11 and 13 of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. The Court stated that EU law does not preclude national legislation to impose certain time limits for concluding or starting administrative proceedings, given however that these limits do not undermine the effectiveness of consumer law. The procedural autonomy of Member States must be balanced with the need to guarantee effective consumer protection.
The case was decided in parallel and coherently with Case C-511/23, Caronte&Tourist v. Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, regarding the same issue of law. This latter case concerned the proceedings for anti-competitive behavior started by the AGCM against the corporation “Caronte&Tourist”, the main provider of ferry services across the Strait of Messina, connecting the Italian regions of Sicily and Calabria. The CJEU established the illegitimacy of national legislation requiring the competent Authority to commence the investigation for alleged infringement of competition law by notifying the statement of objections to the undertaking within a period of 90 days. The CJEU further held that the measure sanctioning the lack of respect of that period of time by annulling the final decision undertaken by the Authority, and also precluding to begin a new infringement procedure for the same practice and state of affairs, was not consistent with EU law, and specifically with Article 4(5) and Article 13(1) of Directive (EU) 2019/1, to empower the competition Authorities of Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market.
Both rulings confirm the importance of effective enforcement of EU competition and consumer protection law. However, while the Trenitalia case emphasises more the need to balance procedural autonomy with effective consumer protection, the Caronte&Tourist case seems to go slightly further, making explicit the necessity for national laws not to impose constraints, also regarding procedural time limits, which could hinder the overarching goal of competition in the internal market. To this aim, the Court resorts to the principles of effectiveness, equivalence, and effet utile.
