Article 47 - Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial
Key fact of the case:
(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Internal market in natural gas –Directive 2003/55/EC — Article 25 — Directive 2009/73/EC — Articles 41 and 54 — Temporal application –Regulation (EC) No 1775/2005 — Article 5 — Capacity allocation mechanisms and congestion management procedures — Decision of a regulatory authority — Right to bring an action — Action brought by a company holding a natural gas transmission authorisation — Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — Article 47 — Right to effective judicial protection against a decision of a regulatory authority)
Results (sanctions) and key consequences of the case:
... the Court (Fourth Chamber) hereby rules:
50. Thus, whilst it is, in principle, for national law to determine an individual’s standing and legal interest in bringing proceedings, EU law nevertheless requires, in addition to observance of the principles of equivalence and effectiveness, that the national legislation should not undermine the right to effective judicial protection, as provided for in Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’) (see, to that effect, judgment in Mono Car Styling, C‑12/08, EU:C:2009:466, paragraph 49 and case-law cited).
51. In the light of all the foregoing considerations, the answer to the third to fifth questions is that Article 5 of Regulation No 1775/2005, read in conjunction with the Annex to that regulation, and Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union must be interpreted as precluding national legislation concerning the exercise of rights of action before the court or tribunal having jurisdiction to review the lawfulness of acts of a regulatory authority, which, in circumstances such as those at issue in the main proceedings, does not make it possible to confer on an operator, such as E.ON Földgáz, locus standi for the purpose of bringing an action against a decision of that regulatory authority relating to the network code.