Ryanair loses appeal over attempt to sue Italian competition authority

High Court reporters

Ryanair has failed in an appeal seeking 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.

Last 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 had brought proceedings against Ireland's Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CC) and Italy's AGCM over the raid on the airline's Airside offices at Dublin Airport on March 8th, 2024.

The search was on foot of a request to the CC by the AGCM, which began an investigation 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 CC 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 s its position that it is not abusing its dominant market position.

The AGCM 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 CoA and the CC opposed it.

Ryanair's central tenet, in its appeal, was that the High Court judge failed to recognise the difference between an action by or against a state authority and an action arising out of the exercise by a state authority of the authority of the state.

In his decision on behalf of the three-judge Court of Appeal dismissing the Ryanair appeal, Mr Justice Senan Allen said the net question in this case was whether the Irish courts had jurisdiction under EU regulations relating to jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters to hear and determine Ryanair’s claims against the AGCM.

He said there are well established principles to be applied to that question. He was satisfied that the claims are claims in respect of the liability of the Italian State for acts and omissions in the exercise of Italian State authority.

He said he also saw "no basis whatsoever" for a reference to the Court of Justice of the EU.

He dismissed the appeal and affirmed the order of the High Court.