Summary
Pursuant to Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, Italian courts have jurisdiction over an action aimed at declaring that an anti-competitive agreement prohibited by Article 81(1) of the EC Treaty (now Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) and by Article 53(1) of the EEA Agreement does not exist, and that in any case no actual damages have occurred, brought against a plurality of defendants, some of which are domiciled in other Member States of the European Union. In fact, such claims are so closely connected that it is expedient to hear and determine them together to avoid the risk of irreconcilable judgments, since they are aimed at ascertaining the non-existence of an anti-competitive behaviour that is substantially the same and may hypothetically affect all defendants. Pursuant to Article 16(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down by Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty, an action aimed at ascertaining that a cartel and certain anti-competitive conducts did not exist or occur or did not affect prices is inadmissible for lack of interest to initiate the action (interesse ad agire) pursuant to Article 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, if said action is based on a different interpretation of the same facts on the basis of which a decision of the Commission has been issued. Indeed, in such a case national courts are not empowered to issue any decision that may have useful effects for the plaintiff, not even the removal of a situation of legal uncertainty. In relation to a claim aimed at declaring that an anti-competitive agreement did not cause damages to the clients – domiciled in different Member States – of the colluding undertakings a plurality of illegal conducts and damages may occur, which are different for each client. Accordingly, it is not possible to lodge claims for said (non) damaging events, which occurred in different Member States, before a single court, either pursuant to Article 5(3) or pursuant to Article 6(1) of Regulation No 44/2001.