Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 12 November 2009 – SLG Carbon v Commission

(Case C-564/08 P)

Appeal – Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices − Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement – Market for electrical and mechanical carbon and graphite products − Article 15(2) of Regulation No 17 – Guidelines on the method of setting fines – Turnover and share of the relevant market – Value of ‘captive’ use – Principle of equal treatment – Principle of proportionality

1. Appeals – Grounds – Plea submitted for the first time in the context of the appeal – Inadmissibility – Appeal against a judgment of the Court of First Instance in the sphere of competition (see paras 22-23, 25, 31)

2. Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Turnover taken into account – Value of deliveries internal to the undertaking – Included (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2) (see para. 30)

3. Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Division of the undertakings in question into categories with a specific starting point – Whether permissible (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2); Commission notice 98/C 9/03, point 1 A) (see paras 43, 45, 49, 56)

4. Appeals – Jurisdiction of the Court – Challenge on grounds of fairness to the Court of First Instance’s assessment concerning the amount of a fine imposed on an undertaking – Excluded – Review limited to ascertaining whether the General Court took into account all the factors essential to the assessment of the gravity of the infringement and all the arguments raised against the fine imposed (see paras 58-59)

Re:

Operative part

The Court:

1.Dismisses the appeal;

2.Orders SGL Carbon AG to pay the costs.