British American Tobacco Belgium v. Belgium
British American Tobacco Belgium, et al. v. Belgium, Arrêt n° 246.452 du 18 decembre 2019, Conseil d'Etat [Council of State] (2019).
- Belgium
- Dec 18, 2019
- Council of State, Administrative Litigation Section
Tobacco manufacturers requested both the annulment of and, in the interim, a suspension in the implementation of plain (or standardized) packaging. The court denied their request for a suspension, finding that there would be no irreversible damage to the manufacturers' reputations since they are still permitted to use their brand names on the new package format. The court also concluded that the transition period allotted by the legislation was sufficient in length. Finally, the manufacturers failed to prove that they would incur financial consequences large enough to justify suspension of implementation.