Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Annulment definition

What does Annulment mean? Annulment is the family court process for obtaining a nullity order confirming that a marriage is either void (never legally valid) or voidable (valid unless and until annulled). It is used instead of divorce where a party challenges the marriage’s validity. In England and Wales, annulment (nullity of marriage) is governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and case law; in Northern Ireland by the Matrimonial Causes (Northern Ireland) Order 1978; in Scotland principally by the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 and case law; and in Ireland by the Family Law (Nullity of Marriage) Act 1995 and case law. Scots law provides...

UPS v Commission (T-194/13): General Court annuls EU merger prohibition for procedural irregularity - failure to disclose final econometric model - reinforcing parties' rights of defence in EU merger control

Published by a LexisNexis Competition expert

Practice notes

CASE HUB (NOTE—appeal lodged by Commission at Court of Justice in Case C- 265/17 P) ARCHIVED —this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the judgment of 7 March 2017; it is no longer maintained. See further: timeline, commentary and related/similar cases

Case facts

UPS brought an action before the General Court to annul the Commission’s decision of 30 January 2013 that blocked its planned acquisition of TNT (Case M.6570), challenging the prohibition measure imposed on the transaction.

Outline

On 7 March 2017, the General Court annulled the Commission’s decision due to a procedural defect. The Court found that UPS’s rights of defence were breached because the Commission relied on an econometric analysis that, in its final form, had not been discussed with the parties during the administrative phase.

This case stands out as merger prohibitions by the Commission are uncommon, and successful court challenges to such prohibitions are rarer still—the last occasion was in 2002, when the Court of First instance (now the General Court) quashed three prohibition decisions:

Tetra Laval/Sidel
Airtours/First Choice
Schneider/Legrand

See further: timeline, commentary and related/similar cases...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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