Cassis de Dijon (court case)
Encyclopedia
Rewe-Zentral AG
v Bundesmonopolverwaltung für Branntwein (C-120-78), also known as the Cassis de Dijon case is a decision of the European Court of Justice
("ECJ"), in which a regulation applying both to imports and to domestic goods (an "indistinctly applicable measure") that produces an effect equivalent to a quantitative import restriction was held to be an unlawful restriction on the free movement of goods. This would be the case even if the rule merely prescribed certain ingredients in a product.
) in Germany by an importer and retailer (Rewe). Crème de cassis is a blackcurrant liqueur produced in France
containing 15% to 20% alcohol by volume
. The German government had a law stipulating that products sold as fruit liqueur should contain not less than 25% alcohol by volume. Therefore, the Bundesmonopolverwaltung für Branntwein (a section of the German Federal Ministry of Finance) told Rewe that the cassis de Dijon could not be imported into Germany and marketed as a fruit liqueur. The importer argued that this represented a quantitative restriction on trade in breach of article 28 of the Treaty of Rome
.
The major outcome of this case is the principle of mutual recognition: the court held that there are no valid reasons why a product that is lawfully marketed in one member state should not be introduced in another member state.
To soften this wide opening of the gates for intra-Community trading, the court went on to provide four mandatory requirements which might be accepted as necessary for restricting trading in addition to the fixed derogations of TFEU Art. 36 of the Lisbon Treaty:
Article 34 TFEU
REWE Group
REWE Group is a diversified retail and tourism group based in Germany. Its current turnover is around 50.91 billion euros. It operates in 14 European countries and employs over 325,000 people in its trading and travel divisions.- Trading :...
v Bundesmonopolverwaltung für Branntwein (C-120-78), also known as the Cassis de Dijon case is a decision of the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
("ECJ"), in which a regulation applying both to imports and to domestic goods (an "indistinctly applicable measure") that produces an effect equivalent to a quantitative import restriction was held to be an unlawful restriction on the free movement of goods. This would be the case even if the rule merely prescribed certain ingredients in a product.
Facts
The case concerned the sale of "cassis de Dijon" (a type of crème de cassisCrème de cassis
Crème de cassis is a sweet, dark red liqueur that is made from blackcurrants.Several cocktails are made with crème de cassis, including the very popular wine cocktail, kir.-Origin and production:...
) in Germany by an importer and retailer (Rewe). Crème de cassis is a blackcurrant liqueur produced in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
containing 15% to 20% alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in an alcoholic beverage .The ABV standard is used worldwide....
. The German government had a law stipulating that products sold as fruit liqueur should contain not less than 25% alcohol by volume. Therefore, the Bundesmonopolverwaltung für Branntwein (a section of the German Federal Ministry of Finance) told Rewe that the cassis de Dijon could not be imported into Germany and marketed as a fruit liqueur. The importer argued that this represented a quantitative restriction on trade in breach of article 28 of the Treaty of Rome
Treaty of Rome
The Treaty of Rome, officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, was an international agreement that led to the founding of the European Economic Community on 1 January 1958. It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany...
.
Judgment
The ECJ held that the German legislation represented a measure having an effect equivalent to a quantitative restriction on imports, and that the law was in breach of article 28 of the Treaty. The court stated:The major outcome of this case is the principle of mutual recognition: the court held that there are no valid reasons why a product that is lawfully marketed in one member state should not be introduced in another member state.
To soften this wide opening of the gates for intra-Community trading, the court went on to provide four mandatory requirements which might be accepted as necessary for restricting trading in addition to the fixed derogations of TFEU Art. 36 of the Lisbon Treaty:
Article 34 TFEU