The EU General Court partially annuls the decisions of the Commission to order dawn raids on a number of French retailers (Casino, Guichard-Perrachon / Achats Marchandises Casino) (Intermarché Casino Achats) (Les Mousquetaires / ITM Entreprises)

Partial annulment of European Commission decisions to order dawn raid inspections* On 5 October 2020, the General Court of the European Union (GC) partially annulled decisions of the European Commission (EC) to order on-the-spot inspections (dawn raids) of a number of French retailers [1].. The GC held that the EC did not have sufficiently strong evidence to launch dawn raids in respect of some of the suspected behaviour, namely in relation to the exchange of information concerning future commercial strategies. Key Points Even though the EC has wide powers to order dawn raids and seize documents during them, the GC is prepared to closely scrutinise these powers, and annul inspection decisions when it considers that the EC has defined the scope of its investigation too broadly. The