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Articoli Correlati: Compensation

In 2011, a French company (DTT) signed a commercial agency contract with CMR company, under which CMR was required to sell 25 houses per year on behalf of DTT. The contract included a 12-month trial period, during which the parties were free to terminate it. Six months after the conclusion of the contract, DTT company terminated it because CMR company had only completed one sale; CMR company required DTT company to pay compensation for the damage resulting from the termination of the contract, according to an EU Directive (Council Directive 86/653/EEC of 18th December 1986). However, the Directive did not specify if compensation was payable even if the termination occurs during the trial period. The French Court of Cassation referred the issue to the EU Court of Justice. The Court (C-645/16, 19th April 2018) observed that the objective of the Directive was to protect the commercial agent in his relations with the principal: consequently, although the directive did not regulate the provision of a trial period, compensation cannot be denied on the sole ground that the termination of the contract occurred during the trial period.