C-857/19 - Slovak Telekom
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25 February 2021
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ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:2021:139
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EU
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Court
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Court decision
In a request for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU, the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic asked the ECJ if the phrase “shall relieve the competition authorities of the Member States of their competence to apply Articles 101 and 102 TFEU” in the first sentence of Article 11(6) of Regulation No 1/2003 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 101 and 102 TFEU means that the authorities of the Member States lose their powers to apply Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and if Article 50 (Right not to be tried or punished twice in criminal proceedings for the same criminal offence) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union also applies to administrative offences consisting of the abuse of a dominant position within the meaning of Article 102 TFEU for which the Commission and the authority of a Member State have imposed sanctions separately and independently in the exercise of their competence under Article 11(6) of Regulation No 1/2003. ECJ responded that Article 11(6) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 must be interpreted as meaning that the competition authorities of the Member States are relieved of their competence to apply Articles 101 and 102 TFEU in the case where the European Commission initiates proceedings for the purposes of adopting a decision finding an infringement of those provisions in so far as that formal act relates to the same alleged infringements of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, committed by the same undertaking or undertakings on the same product market or markets and the same geographical market or markets during the same period or periods as those concerned by the proceeding or proceedings previously brought by those authorities. Furthermore, the principle ne bis in idem, as enshrined in Article 50 of the Charter must be interpreted as meaning that it applies to infringements of competition law, such as the abuse of a dominant position referred to in Article 102 TFEU, and precludes an undertaking
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