Spain: Clarifying the Calculation of Limitation Periods in Compensatory Actions for Anticompetitive Conduct

On 4 September 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down the long-awaited judgment in the Nissan Iberia case (C-21/24), which has its origin in a preliminary ruling referred by the Commercial Court No. 1 of Zaragoza.

The question submitted to the CJEU was whether, in order to bring actions for damages for an infringement of competition law declared by a national authority – in this case, the CNMC – the limitation period should begin from the publication of the sanctioning decision or from the time it becomes final in the event of a judicial challenge.

Background

The Court had already ruled on sanctioning decisions of the European Commission in its judgment of 18 April 2024 (Heureka Group, C-605/21), establishing that the period began with publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. However, this criterion was not applicable to decisions of national authorities, given the different binding effect of the decisions of the European Commission (Masterfoods judgment, C-344/98, and Article 16.1 of Regulation 1/2003).

In April 2025, Advocate General Medina had been in favour of the period starting with the finality of the sanctioning resolution. Its conclusions aroused criticism, especially for the interpretation of aspects of the Spanish legal system, which kept the controversy alive until the final decision of the CJEU.

The CJEU ruling in Nissan Iberia

The CJEU has confirmed that the principle of effectiveness requires that the limitation period does not begin to run until the sanctioning decision issued by a national competition authority becomes final. Only then does the injured party have the essential information to bring the action.

Impact on Spain

The issue was particularly relevant in the Spanish context, since many proceedings derive from sanctioning resolutions of the CNMC prior to the entry into force of the Damages Directive. An example is the lawsuits against car manufacturers arising from the CNMC’s resolution of July 2015, confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2021.

Until now, the Spanish courts had mostly interpreted that the term began with the finality of the resolution. In fact, the Supreme Court itself confirmed this in its judgments no. 889/2025 and no. 971/2025, of 5 and 17 June, respectively. With this judgment of the CJEU, any debate is put to an end and this criterion is definitively consolidated.

By Marimón Abogados, Spain, a Transatlantic Law International Affiliated Firm.

For further information or for any assistance please contact spain@transatlanticlaw.com

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