Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 29 April 2021 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Supremo — Spain) — Banco de Portugal, Fundo de Resolução, Novo Banco SA, Sucursal en España v VR

(Case C-504/19) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Banking supervision - Reorganisation and winding up of credit institutions - Directive 2001/24/EC - Reorganisation measure adopted by an administrative authority in the home Member State of a credit institution - Transfer of rights, assets or liabilities to a ‘bridge institution’ - Transfer back to the credit institution subject to the reorganisation measure - Article 3(2) - Lex concursus - Effect of a reorganisation measure in other Member States - Mutual recognition - Article 32 - Effects of a reorganisation measure on a pending lawsuit - Exception to the application of the lex concursus - Article 47, first paragraph, of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Effective judicial protection - Principle of legal certainty)

(2021/C 278/05)

Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Tribunal Supremo

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Banco de Portugal, Fundo de Resolução, Novo Banco SA, Sucursal en España

Defendant: VR

Operative part of the judgment

Article 3(2) and Article 32 of Directive 2001/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 April 2001 on the reorganisation and winding-up of credit institutions, read in the light of the principle of legal certainty and of the first paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, must be interpreted as precluding recognition, without further conditions, in legal proceedings on the merits pending in a Member State other than the home Member State relating to a liability which a credit institution had been relieved of by a first reorganisation measure taken in the latter Member State, the effects of a second reorganisation measure seeking to transfer back, with retroactive effect at a date prior to the opening of such proceedings, that liability to that credit institution, where such recognition has the result that the credit institution to which the liabilities had been transferred by the first measure can no longer be sued, with retroactive effect, the purposes of those proceedings, thereby calling into question judicial decisions already adopted in favour of the applicant who is the subject of those same proceedings.

---

(1)  OJ C 363, 28.10.2019.