AG Bobek: Takeover Directive precludes res judicata decisions imposing administrative penalties to parties not part of the proceedings

Advocate General Bobek rendered his Opinion in Adler Real Estate and Others  (Cases C-546/18 andC-605/18). He argues that Articles 4 and 17 of the Takeover Directive, in conjunction with Article 47 of the Charter, preclude national law provisions that provide for a decision with res judicata effects from imposing, in a subsequent administrative procedure, sanctions on parties who were not part of the preliminary proceedings.

The preliminary questions of the Austrian Supreme Court, that referred the case, concerned the procedural rights provided by EU law for persons who were not parties to the ‘first round’ of preliminary proceedings, but who may face, due to their corporate positions in the companies that were the parties in the first proceedings, sanctions imposed on them in the ‘second round’ of administrative proceedings.

AG Bobek advises the Court to rule that Articles 4 and 17 of the Takeover Directive and Article 47 of the Charter preclude the application of such national law provisions that may result in the imposition of penalties in such circumstances without exercising their rights of the defense or which fail to provide the parties access to an effective remedy before a tribunal.

Vide the Opinion:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62018CC0546