Ryanair has asked the Court of Appeal to overturn a decision that it cannot sue the Italian competition and antitrust authority in Ireland over a search of its Dublin headquarters last March.
In June, the High Court dismissed the airline’s case against the Italian Autorità Garante Della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) for want of jurisdiction by the Irish courts.
Ryanair DAC and Ryanair Holdings plc brought proceedings against Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and Italy’s AGCM over the raid on the airline’s Airside offices at Dublin Airport on March 8th.
The search was on foot of a request to the CCPC by the Italian authorities, which began an investigation last September following complaints from two Italian travel agency associations and a consumer association.
Ryanair, it was alleged, through its online ticket sales system precludes travel agencies from purchasing tickets via its website, where the lowest fares are available, and directs them instead to a global distribution system. This affects competition and amounts to an abuse of its dominant market position, it was claimed.
Ryanair denied the claims.
The airline then brought proceedings in Ireland claiming, among other things, that the search warrant obtained by the CCPC in the District Court was invalid. It asked the High Court to quash the warrant.
It claimed the District Court judge who issued the warrant should have been informed about two key Italian rulings that it says supports its position that it is not abusing its dominant market position.
The Italian regulator asked the High Court to first determine whether Ireland is the proper jurisdiction against it for the Ryanair case. After the court found in the AGCM’s favour, Ryanair appealed to the Court of Appeal.
Submissions were made to the court on Thursday by Martin Hayden SC, for Ryanair, asking that the High Court decision be overturned, and from Eoin McCullough SC, for the Italian regulator, opposing the application.
Mr Justice Senan Allen, sitting with Ms Justice Nuala Butler and Mr Justice Brian O’Moore, said the court would give its decision in due course.
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