CJEU - C 61/14 / Judgment

Orizzonte Salute – Studio Infermieristico Associato v Azienda Pubblica di Servizi alla persona ‘San Valentino’ – Città di Levico Terme, Ministero della Giustizia, Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, Segretario Generale del Tribunale Regionale di Giustizia Amministrativa di Trento (TRGA)
Policy area
Justice, freedom and security
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
Court (Fifth Chamber)
Type
Decision
Decision date
06/10/2015
ECLI (European case law identifier)
ECLI:EU:C:2015:655
  • CJEU - C 61/14 / Judgment

    Key facts of the case:

    REQUEST for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the Tribunale regionale di giustizia amministrativa di Trento (Italy), made by decision of 21 November 2013, received at the Court on 7 February 2014, in the proceedings Orizzonte Salute — Studio Infermieristico Associato v Azienda Pubblica di Servizi alla persona San Valentino — Città di Levico Terme, Ministero della Giustizia, Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze, Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, Segretario Generale del Tribunale regionale di giustizia amministrativa di Trento.

    1. This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Article 1 of Council Directive 89/665/EEC of 21 December 1989 on the coordination of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of review procedures to the award of public supply and public works contracts (OJ 1989 L 395, p. 33), as amended by Directive 2007/66/ΕC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2007 (OJ 2007 L 335, p. 31) (‘Directive 89/665’).
    2. This request has been made in proceedings between, on the one hand, Orizzonte Salute — Studio Infermieristico Associato (‘Orizzonte Salute’) and, on the other, the Azienda Pubblica di Servizi alla persona San Valentino — Città di Levico Terme (the San Valentino public personal assistance agency of the city of Levico Terme; the ‘Azienda’), the Ministero della Giustizia (Ministry of Justice), the Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze (Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs), the Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri (Presidency of the Council of Ministers) and the Segretario Generale del Tribunale regionale di giustizia amministrativa di Trento (Secretary General of the Regional Administrative Court of Trento), concerning (i) the extension of a contract for the provision of nursing services and a call for tenders issued at a later stage and (ii) court fees for bringing administrative judicial challenges relating to public procurement.

    Results (sanctions) and key consequences of the case:

    ...the Court (Fifth Chamber) hereby rules:

    1. Article 1 of Council Directive 89/665/EEC of 21 December 1989 on the coordination of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of review procedures to the award of public supply and public works contracts, as amended by Directive 2007/66/ΕC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2007, and the principles of equivalence and effectiveness must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation which requires the payment of court fees such as the standard fee at issue in the main proceedings when an action relating to public procurement is brought before administrative courts.
    2. Article 1 of Directive 89/665, as amended by Directive 2007/66, and the principles of equivalence and effectiveness do not preclude the charging of multiple court fees to an individual who brings several court actions concerning the same award of a public contract or that individual from having to pay additional court fees in order to be able to raise supplementary pleas concerning the same award of a public contract within ongoing judicial proceedings. However, in the event of objections being raised by a party concerned, it is for the national court to examine the subject-matter of the actions submitted by an individual or the pleas raised by that individual within the same proceedings. If the national court finds that the subject-matter of those actions is not in fact separate or does not amount to a significant enlargement of the subject-matter of the dispute that is already pending, it is required to relieve that individual of the obligation to pay cumulative court fees.
  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

     

    48. As regards the principle of effectiveness, the Court has already held that it implies a requirement of judicial protection, guaranteed by Article 47 of the Charter, that is binding on the national court (see, to that effect, judgment in Sánchez Morcillo and Abril García, C‑169/14, EU:C:2014:2099, paragraph 35 and the case-law cited).

    49. Accordingly, Article 1 of Directive 89/665 must be interpreted in the light of the fundamental rights set out in the Charter, in particular the right to an effective remedy before a court or tribunal, laid down in Article 47 thereof (see, to that effect, judgment in Ryneš, C‑212/13, EU:C:2014:2428, paragraph 29).

    50. It is therefore necessary to examine whether legislation such as that at issue in the main proceedings may be considered to be consistent with the principles of equivalence and effectiveness and consistent with the effectiveness of Directive 89/665.

    51. The two parts of that investigation concern (i) the amounts of the standard fee to be paid for bringing an action in administrative judicial proceedings relating to public procurement and (ii) cases of a cumulation of such fees paid within the same administrative judicial proceedings relating to public procurement.

    ...

    72. The levying of multiple and cumulative court fees within the same administrative judicial proceedings is not, in principle, contrary to Article 1 of Directive 89/665, read in the light of Article 47 of the Charter, or to the principles of equivalence and effectiveness. 

    73. As a rule, such levying contributes to the proper functioning of the judicial system, since it amounts to a source of financing for the judicial activity of the Member States and discourages the submission of claims which are manifestly unfounded or which seek only to delay the proceedings. 

    74. Those objectives justify the multiple application of court fees such as those at issue in the main proceedings only where the subject-matter of the actions or supplementary pleas are in fact separate and amount to a significant enlargement of the subject-matter of the dispute that is already pending. 

    75. By contrast, if that is not the case, an obligation of additional payment of such court fees because of the submission of such actions or pleas is contrary to the availability of legal remedies ensured by Directive 89/665 and to the principle of effectiveness.