Judgment_paragraph 18 · Gerry Plant and others v Commission of the European Communities (C-480/99 P)

18In its response to the appeal, the Commission contends in limine that the whole of the appeal is inadmissible. The Court of First Instance dismissed the action as inadmissible because it was not brought in time and did so on the basis of a purely factual analysis. Having asked the appellants certain direct questions, the Court of First Instance rejected their assertion that one of them had been in possession of the contested decision on 10 August 1998, as they claimed. That finding does not amount — save in a case in which the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted — to a question of law subject, as such, to review by the Court of Justice. The Commission points out that, pursuant to Article 32d(1) of the ECSC Treaty and Article 51 of the ECSC Statute of the Court of Justice, an appeal lies on points of law only. The Commission refers in that regard to Case C-53/92 P Hilti v Commission [1994] ECR I-667, paragraphs 10 and 42; Case C-143/95 P Commission v Socurte and Others [1997] ECR I-1, paragraph 36; and the order in Case C-55/97 P AIUFFASS and AKT v Commission [1997] ECR I-5383, paragraph 25. In particular, the ground of appeal claiming that the rights of the defence were not respected — in so far as the Court of First Instance based itself on factual evidence provided by SWSMA on which the appellants were not able to comment — is inadmissible, since it amounts to a request for reexamination of the facts. Furthermore, while an appeal may be confined to alleging, inter alia, a breach of procedure adversely affecting the interests of the appellant, the appeal does not show how the appellants' interests have been prejudiced by any breach of procedure.

Gerry Plant and others v Commission of the European Communities (C-480/99 P)

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