21.3.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 128/11

(Case C-27/22)

(2022/C 128/15)

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants and appellants: Volkswagen Group Italia SpA, Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft

Defendant and respondent: Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato

Questions referred

1.Can the penalties imposed for unfair commercial practices under national legislation implementing Directive 2005/29/EC (1) be classified as criminal administrative penalties?

2.Must Article 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union be interpreted as precluding a national provision that makes it possible to uphold in court proceedings and make final a criminal administrative penalty against a legal person in respect of unlawful conduct in the form of unfair commercial practices, for which a final criminal conviction has been handed down against that person in the meantime in a different Member State, where the latter criminal conviction became final before the legal challenge to the former criminal administrative penalty became res judicata?

3.Can the provisions laid down in Directive 2005/29, with particular reference to Articles 3(4) and 13(2)(e), justify a derogation from the principle of ne bis in idem established by Article 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (subsequently incorporated into the Treaty on European Union by Article 6 TEU) and by Article 54 of the Schengen Convention?

* Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Unfair Commercial Practices Directive’) (OJ 2005 L 149, p. 22).