Judgment_paragraph 95 · Lafarge SA v European Commission (C-413/08 P)

95It is important to note in that regard that, although Article 15(2) of Regulation No 17 leaves the Commission a wide discretion, it nevertheless limits the exercise of that discretion by establishing objective criteria to which the Commission must adhere. Thus, first, the amount of the fine that may be imposed is subject to a quantifiable and absolute ceiling, so that the maximum amount of the fine that can be imposed on a given undertaking can be determined in advance. Second, the exercise of that discretion is also limited by rules of conduct which the Commission has imposed on itself in the Leniency Notice and Guidelines. In addition, the Commission’s known and accessible administrative practice is fully subject to review by the Courts of the European Union, the settled and published case-law of which specifies the undefined concepts which Article 15(2) of Regulation No 17 could contain. A prudent trader, if need be by taking legal advice, can foresee in a sufficiently precise manner the method and order of magnitude of the fines which he incurs for a given line of conduct, and the fact that that trader cannot know in advance precisely the level of the fines which the Commission will impose in each individual case cannot constitute a breach of the principle that penalties must have a proper legal basis (see, to that effect, Evonik Degussa v Commission and Council, paragraphs 50 to 55).