Avis juridique important

61986J0129

European Court reports 1989 Page 03963 Pub.RJ Page Pub somm

Summary

3.Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Injury - Period to be taken into consideration - Commission' s discretionary power ( Council Regulation No 2176/84, Art . 4 ).

4.Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Conduct of the proceeding - Duration of more than one year - Permissibility - Condition - Reasonable period ( Council Regulation No 2176/84, Art . 7(9 ) ).

Summary

3.The excessive duration of a proceeding leading to the imposition of anti-dumping duties does not call for a departure from the Community practice for determining the existence of injury adopted by the Commission in the context of the wide discretionary power conferred on it by Article 4 of Regulation No 2176/84 whereby a period of approximately four years is taken into consideration, provided that the period taken covers the six months preceding the initiation of the proceeding and enables the existence of any injury to be established in relation to the time of adoption, if such be the case, of protective measures.

4.The one-year period mentioned in Article 7(9 ) of Regulation No 2176/84 for the conduct of anti-dumping proceedings is a guide rather than a mandatory period. That is borne out both by the wording of the provision in question and by the nature of the anti-dumping proceeding whose progress does not depend solely on the efforts of the Community authorities. However, it follows from that provision that the anti-dumping proceeding must not be extended beyond a reasonable period to be assessed according to the particular circumstances of each case.

( The grounds of this judgment are essentially identical to those contained in the judgment also of 28 November 1989 in Case C-121/86 Epicheiriseon Metalleftikon Viomichanikon kai Naftiliakon and Others v Council (( 1989 )) ECR .)

Parties

In Case C-129/86 Hellenic Republic, represented by Yannos Kranidiotis, Special Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, assisted by Stelios Perrakis, Legal Adviser in the European Community Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Eleni Marinou, with an address for service at the office of D . Yannopoulos at the Greek Embassy, 117 Val Sainte-Croix, applicant, v Council of the European Communities, represented by Erik Stein, Legal Adviser, and by Christos Mavrakos, a member of its Legal Department, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the office of Joerg Kaeser, Director of the Legal Affairs Directorate of the European Investment Bank, 100 boulevard Kondrad-Adenauer, defendant, APPLICATION under Article 173 of the EEC Treaty for a declaration that Council Decision 86/59/EEC of 6 March 1986 terminating the anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of dead-burned ( sintered ) natural magnesite originating in the People' s Republic of China and North Korea ( Official Journal 1986, L 70, p . 41 ) and any prior or subsequent related decision, are void, THE COURT composed of : O . Due, President, Sir Gordon Slynn and C . N . Kakouris ( Presidents of Chambers ), T . Koopmans, R . Joliet, J . C . Moitinho de Almeida, G . C . Rodríguez Iglesias, F . Grévisse and M . Diez de Velasco, Judges, ( the grounds of the judgment are not reproduced ) hereby :

Operative part

( 1)Dismisses the application; ( 2 ) Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs .