Keywords
Summary

Keywords

++++

1. Preliminary rulings ° Reference to the Court ° Need for an inter partes hearing ° Assessment by the national court

(EEC Treaty, Art. 177)

2. Preliminary rulings ° Jurisdiction of the Court ° Limits ° Question irrelevant and not objectively required for the main proceedings

(EEC Treaty, Art. 177)

3. Transport ° Maritime transport ° Freedom to provide services ° Principle of non-discrimination ° Application to piloting services in ports of preferential tariffs for vessels authorized to engage in national maritime cabotage ° Not permissible

(Council Regulation No 4055/86, Art. 1)

4. Competition ° Public undertakings and undertakings to which Member States grant special or exclusive rights ° Monopoly of providing piloting services in a port ° Approval of the tariffs by a national authority ° Discrimination as regards tariffs in favour of undertakings operating transport services between two national ports as opposed to those providing a service to a port in another Member State ° Abuse of a dominant position

(EEC Treaty, Art. 86 and Art 90(1))

Summary

1. Article 177 of the Treaty does not make the reference to the Court subject to there having been an inter partes hearing in the proceedings in the course of which the national court refers a question for a preliminary ruling, although it may be in the interests of the proper administration of justice for the preliminary question not to be referred until after an inter partes hearing.

2. In the context of the procedure provided for in Article 177 of the Treaty, the Court has no jurisdiction to rule on questions submitted to it by a national court if those questions bear no relation to the facts or the subject-matter of the main action and hence are not objectively required in order to settle the dispute in that action.

3. Article 1(1) of Regulation No 4055/86 applying the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport between Member States and between Member States and third countries precludes the application in a Member State of different tariffs for identical piloting services, depending on whether or not the vessel operated by an undertaking established in a Member State for providing maritime transport services between two Member States is authorized to engage in maritime cabotage, which is reserved to vessels flying the flag of that State. Such a practice constitutes discrimination, albeit only indirectly, on the ground of nationality, since vessels flying the national flag are generally operated by national economic operators, whereas transport undertakings from other Member States as a rule do not operate vessels registered in that State.

4. Although the mere fact of creating a dominant position by granting exclusive rights within the meaning of Article 90(1) of the Treaty is not in itself incompatible with Article 86 of the Treaty, those two provisions prohibit a national authority from inducing, by approving its tariffs, an undertaking which has been granted the exclusive right of providing compulsory piloting services in a substantial part of the common market to apply different tariffs to maritime transport undertakings, depending on whether they operate transport services between Member States or between ports situated on national territory, where such discrimination is liable to affect trade between Member States.