On Wednesday 9 December, the Court of Justice of the European Union annulled the European Commission ruling of July 2016 which made commitments by Paramount Pictures not to enforce clauses that resulted in absolute territorial exclusivity legally binding. The clauses were included in broadcasting licence agreements signed with Sky and other interested third parties, including the Canal+ Group (case C-132/19) (see EUROPE 11601/2).
The Canal+ Group brought a case before the General Court for annulment of the Commission’s ruling, on the grounds that Paramount Pictures could not be forced to honour its commitments. At the end of 2018, the General Court dismissed this case (Case T-873/16).
The Court based its decision on the conclusions of the Advocate General (see EUROPE 12482/29), and ruled in favour of the Canal+ Group, thereby annulling the Commission's ruling and the General Court judgment. It found that the General Court erred in law in its assessment of the proportionality of the contested decision and its adverse effect on the interests of third parties, as required by Regulation (1/2003) on implementing competition rules.
According to the European judge, the Commission’s ruling constituted interference with Canal+ Group’s contractual freedom as a co-contractor, and the interference exceeded the provisions of existing regulations. In addition, the General Court was not able to refer the Canal+ Group to national courts to enforce its contractual rights, because EU legislation prohibits national courts from adopting rulings that conflict with previous related Commission rulings.
The judgment (in French) can be found at: https://bit.ly/3qINRks (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)