CoA, June 1, 2026, Order On Procedural Security, UPC_CoA_48/2026

Key takeaways

The qualification of a party as an SME or the submission of a declaration purporting to establish a party’s SME status pursuant to R. 370.8 RoP is not, in itself, sufficient to dispense with the obligation for said party to provide a security for costs in accordance with R. 158 RoP, if the requirements for the application of that rule are met.

[17] At first instance, to counter the evidence gathered by the Respondents, the Appellant merely stated that the Respondents’ arguments were “legally and factually unfounded” and referred in this context to its alleged SME status, based on the declaration it submitted to obtain a reduction of Court fees in accordance with R. 370.8 RoP (Exhibit MW1). In this declaration, the Appellant asserts that it is a micro-enterprise within the meaning of the Annex to the Commission Recommendation 2003361/EG of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (i.e. an enterprise that employs fewer than 10