132The appellants point out that it is true that, in certain fields, there are provisions which lay down precise limitation periods; however, the Court of Justice has held that, in the absence of any provisions in that regard, the fundamental requirement of legal certainty has the effect of preventing the Commission from indefinitely delaying the exercise of its power to impose fines (Case 52/69 Geigy v Commission [1972] ECR 787, paragraphs 20 and 21). They also refer to the judgment of the Court of First Instance in Joined Cases T-194/97 and T-38/98 Branco v Commission [2000] ECR II-69, paragraphs 90 and 91, in which it was held that an unreasonable delay between the date on which the Commission became aware of certain facts and that on which the decision based on those facts was adopted — in the present case a delay of more than 16 months — may justify annulling such a decision for breach of the principle of legal certainty.
Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.