Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 18 November 2010 – ArchiMEDES v Commission

(Case C‑317/09 P)

Appeal – Set‑off of claims governed by separate legal orders – Application for repayment of sums advanced – Principle of litis denuntiatio – Rights of the defence and right to a fair hearing

1.                     Procedure – Statement of reasons for judgments – Scope (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 36) (see paras 76-78)

2.                     Appeals – Grounds – Plea submitted for the first time in the context of the appeal – Inadmissibility (see paras 88-91)

3.                     Appeals – Grounds – Grounds of a judgment vitiated by an infringement of Union law (see para 105)

4.                     Appeals – Grounds – Plea in law to the effect that there is no mechanism for the joinder of a third party (see paras 121-125)

5.                     Appeals – Grounds – Mere repetition of the pleas and arguments put forward before the Court of First Instance – Inadmissibility (see paras 130-134)

Re:

Appeal brought against the judgment of the Court of First Instance (Fifth Chamber) of 10 June 2009 in Joined Cases T‑396/05 and T‑397/05

ArchiMEDES

v

Commission

, by which that court dismissed the action brought by the applicant at first instance seeking, first, annulment of the Commission’s decisions to recover certain sums paid under a contract with the applicant and to set off their reciprocal claims and, second, an order for the Commission to pay the remainder of the balance due under that contract – Non-applicability of the principle of

litis denuntiatio

– Rejection of the claim for the co-contractors to be held jointly and severally liable – Infringement of the rights of the defence and of the right to a fair hearing.

Operative part

The Court:

1.

Dismisses the appeal;

2.

Orders Architecture, microclimat, énergies douces – Europe et Sud SARL (ArchiMEDES) to pay the costs.