European Business Law, the fourth volume in our series, shows how the European authorities simultaneously abolish all restrictions on access to and exercise of economic activities and support the growth of domestic markets, through the harmonization the internal legislation or the enactment of genuinely unified regulations.

European Business Law

In the Cassis de Dijon case , the Court only mentioned four overriding requirements allowing the classification as a measure having an equivalent effect to be ruled out: the effectiveness of fiscal supervision, the protection of public health, the fairness of commercial transactions and the defense of the consumer. Although the concept of effectiveness of fiscal supervision has rarely been relied  …

Overriding requirements

In the Cassis de Dijon case , the Court only mentioned four overriding requirements allowing the classification as a measure having an equivalent effect to be ruled out: the effectiveness of fiscal supervision, the protection of public health, the fairness of commercial transactions and the defense of the consumer. Although the concept of effectiveness of fiscal supervision has rarely been relied on subsequently, by contrast the requirements of consumer protection and fair trading are very frequently among the Member States' means of defense. Decisions subsequent to Cassis de Dijon have extended the list of justifications that the Member States may claim under Article 34. In particular, in respect of a mandatory requirement the following may be asserted:

- maintenance of balance of social security systems ,

- protection of security of public telecommunications networks ,

- protection of a cultural medium, such as cinema ,

- preservation of diversity of the press ,

Case 120/78 Rewe v Bundesmonopolverwaltung für Branntwein [1979] ECR 649, LawLex200500005788JBJ.

Case C-265/06 Commission v Portugal [2008] ECR I-2245, LawLex200900001330JBJ, prohibition from affixing tinted films to the windscreen and to the windows alongside the passenger seats in motor vehicles; Case C-314/98 Snellers [2000] ECR I-8633, LawLex200700001625JBJ, law which subjects, for an imported vehicle, the fixation of the date on which the vehicle is first authorized to use the public highway to the issuing a the registration certificate, where the vehicle has not been registered for more than two days in another Member State; Case C-54-05 Commission v Finland [2007] ECR I-2473, LawLex200900001040JBJ, requirement of a transfer license for an imported vehicle to be put into circulation allowing vehicles to be identified precisely through the updating of information included on the Register of Vehicles; Case C-286/07 Commission v Luxembourg [2008] ECR I-63*, Summ. pub., requirement to submit an excerpt from the commercial register or a comparable document providing that the seller of the vehicle is registered as a dealer, for the purposes of the registration in the national territory of vehicles previously registered in other Member States; Case C-110/05 Commission v Italy [2009] ECR I-519, LawLex200900000227JBJ, prohibiting motorcycles from towing a trailer.

Case C-120/95 Decker v Caisse de maladie des employés privés [1998] ECR I-1831, LawLex200900000411JBJ, national legislation which refuses to reimburse an insured person the costs of spectacles purchased from an optician established in another Member State.

Case 120/78 Rewe-Zentral AG “Cassis de Dijon” [1979] ECR 649, LawLex200900001513JBJ; Case 823/79 Criminal proceedings against Carciati [1980] ECR 2773, LawLex200900002039JBJ.

Case C-18/88 RTT v GB-Inno-BM [1991] ECR I-5941, LawLex200400002908JBJ, power given to a public authority to approve telephone equipment which is intended to be connected to the public network and which it has not supplied; Case C-314-93 Criminal proceedings against Rouffeteau and Badia [1994] ECR I-3257, LawLex200900002120JBJ, prohibition to import and hold with a view to their sale non-approved cordless telephones and answering machines, including the advertising thereof, even if it is clearly specified that such equipment is intended solely for re-export.

Case 302/86 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v Kingdom of Denmark  Judgment of 20 September 1988, LawLex200900002325JBJ; Case C-341/95 Bettati v Safety Hi-Tech Srl, Judgment of 14 July 1998, LawLex201100000339JBJ; Case C-389/96 Aher-Waggon GmbH, Judgment of 14 July 1998, LawLex200900000637JBJ; Case C-314/98 Snellers Auto's BV v. Algemeen Directeur van de Dienst Wegverkee, Judgment of 12 October 2000, LawLex200700001625JBJ; Case C-379/98  PreussenElektra AG v Schhleswag AG, Judgment of 13 March 2001, LawLex200500004892JBJ; Case C-463/01 Commission, French Republic and United Kingdom v Germany, Judgment of 14 December 2004, LawLex200900000912JBJ; Case C-320/03  Federal Republic of Germany, Judgment of 15 November 2005, LawLex200900001478JBJ; Case C-524/07 Austria, Judgment of 11 December 2000, not available in English;  Case C-147/21 Comité interprofessionnel des huiles essentielles françaises (CIHEF), Judgment of 19 January 2023, LawLex202400004484JBJ, national legislation may prohibit advertising of biocidal products to the general public, provided that such legislation is justified by the objectives of protecting the health and life of humans and of the environment, is suitable for ensuring that these objectives are attained and does not go beyond what is necessary to attain them.

Case 60/84 Cinéthèque v Fédération nationale des cinémas français [1985] ECR 2605, LawLex200900002260JBJ, establishment of an initial period during which priority is given to cinemas to distribute cinematographic works.

Case C-368/95 Vereinigte Familiapress Zeitungsverlags- und vertriebs GmbH v Bauer Verlag [1997] ECR I-3689, LawLex200900000549JBJ, prohibition on the distribution in the national territory of a periodical imported from another Member State which contains prize puzzles or competitions, even if they are lawfully organized in that Member State.

Case C-65/05 Commission v Greece [2006] ECR I-10341, LawLex200900001091JBJ, use of electrical, electromechanical and electronic games restricted only to casinos although they cannot be regarded as games of chance.

It being specified that although the protection of the child may constitute a legitimate interest which justifies a restriction on the free movement of goods, the conception of the rights of the child may vary from one Member State to another on the basis of moral or cultural views: Case C-244/06 Dynamic Medien [2008] ECR I-505, LawLex200900000916JBJ, national legislation which prohibits the marketing of image storage media which have not been examined and classified for the purpose of protecting young persons and which do not bear any label as to the age from which such image storage media may be viewed; Case C-662/21 Booky.fi Oy, Judgment of 23 March 2023, LawLex202400004485JBJ, holding that national legislation may, in order to protect minors from audiovisual content likely to harm their well-being and development, require that audiovisual programs recorded on a physical medium and marketed via an online store must first have been subject to a control procedure and a classification, in application of the law of that Member State, provided that such regulation is appropriate for securing the attainment of that objective and does not go beyond what is necessary to attain it.

European Business Law

41. Overriding requirements

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41. Overriding requirements

Demandez un accès gratuit au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise

Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Sous parties

Les notions juridiques connexes

Demandez un accès gratuit
au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise