Statutory limitation - Reasonable time limit: The CFI clarifies relationship between statutory limitation and the Commission’s duty to conclude investigations within a reasonable time (Compagnie maritime belge)

*This article is an automatic translation of the original article, provided here for your convenience. Read the original article. – CFI, 18 June 2008, Hoechst v Commission, Case T-410/03, "Sorbates". – CFI, 1 July 2008, Compagnie maritime belge (CMB) v Commission, Case T-276/04 Two judgments clarify the relationship between, on the one hand, the limitation rules arising from Regulation No 2988/74 and, on the other hand, the Commission's obligation to close competition proceedings within a reasonable time. Inspired by Article 6(1) of the ECHR, the Court of First Instance enshrined the existence of a general principle of Community law according to which the Commission is required to respect a reasonable time in competition proceedings (CFI, 22 October 1997, T-213/95 and T-16/96, SCK