47The error of law thus committed by the Court of First Instance does not, however, invalidate its judgment, since, as the Commission has conceded, the decision in question was of direct and individual concern to the complainants. In finding in its decision that the investigation had revealed no grounds for concluding that State aid existed within the meaning of Article 92 of the Treaty, the Commission implicitly refused to initiate the procedure under Article 93(2). It follows from the judgments of the Court cited in paragraphs 40 and 41 above that, in such a situation, the persons intended to benefit from the procedural guarantees afforded by Article 93(2) may secure compliance therewith only if they are able to challenge the decision in question before the Community judicature under the fourth paragraph of Article 173 of the Treaty. That principle is of equal application, whether the ground on which the decision is taken is that the Commission regards the aid as compatible with the common market or that, in its view, the very existence of aid must be discounted.
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