Federal Republic of Germany v. European Parliament
The Federal Republic of Germany sought annulment of a European Community directive that regulated advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products. The Court held that the Community legislature acted properly and within its authority when promulgating the Directive to remove obstacles to cross-border movement of goods by rectifying inconsistencies amongst the laws of Member-States while ensuring a high level of health protection. The Court further held that any indirect infringement by the Directive upon the freedom of expression was proportional to and justified by the purposes behind the Directive's adoption, noting that the restrictions did not compromise journalistic expression but applied only to commercial advertisements within journalistic media.
Federal Republic of Germany v. European Parliament, Case C-380/03, Court of Justice of the European Union (2006).
Governments may bring complaints before intergovernmental bodies on tobacco-related issues. For example, one country may complain that another country’s tax regime discriminates against its exported tobacco products. In some cases, a treaty may allow a private party to file a complaint against a government before an intergovernmental body.
A violation of the right to expression, free speech or similar right to express oneself without limitation or censorship. The industry may claim that a regulation infringes on their right to communicate with customers and the public. Similarly, they may claim that mandated warnings infringe on their freedom to communicate as they desire.
The court might consider procedural matters without touching the merits of the case. These might include: improper joinder, when third parties, such as Health NGOs or government officials, seek to become parties to the suit; lack of standing, where a plaintiff fails to meet the minimum requirements to bring suit; lack of personal jurisdiction, where the court does not have jurisdiction to rule over the defendant; or lack of subject matter jurisdiction, where the court does not have jurisdiction over the issue at suit.
Subsequent regulations exceed the scope of the originating law.
Type of Tobacco Product
None
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
"In addition, the reasons which determined the adoption of such measures are specified for each of the forms of advertising and sponsorship referred to in Articles 3 and 4 of the Directive. As regards, first, the prohibition on advertising in printed media and in certain publications, the fourth recital in the preamble to the Directive states that an appreciable risk exists of obstacles to free movement in the internal market as a result of Member States’ laws, regulations and administrative provisions and that, in order to ensure free circulation throughout the internal market for all such media, it is necessary to limit tobacco advertising therein to those magazines and periodicals which are not intended for the general public such as publications intended exclusively for professionals in the tobacco trade and to publications printed and published in third countries that are not principally intended for the Community market. So far as concerns, second, radio advertising and advertising transmitted via information society services, the sixth recital in the preamble to the Directive refers to the particular attraction and accessibility of these services for young people, whose consumption increases in line with the use of those media. Regarding, third, the prohibition on certain types of sponsorship such as that of radio programmes and activities or events having cross-border effects, the fifth recital in the preamble to the Directive explains that the prohibition in question is intended to prevent the possible circumvention of the restrictions placed on direct forms of advertising. These recitals clearly disclose the essential objective pursued by the Community legislature, namely the improvement of the conditions for the establishment and functioning of the internal market by the removal of obstacles to the free movement of goods or services which serve as a medium for advertising or sponsorship in respect of tobacco products."
"The United Kingdom Government challenges the applicant's assertion that the Directive is incorrectly
based on Article 100a of the Treaty because its principal objective is not the elimination of obstacles to
trade in advertising media and associated services but the protection of human health.
59. According to the case-law of the Court, the choice of the legal basis for a measure must be guided by
objective factors which are amenable to judicial review, including, in particular, the aim and content of
the measure.
60. Objectively, the Directive pursues objectives which are inseparably linked with the protection of
human health and others linked with elimination of disparities in conditions of competition and
liberalisation of trade. The applicant's approach of seeking to determine which of those objectives is
most important is not only contrary to the objective test propounded by the Court but also unworkable."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
The Federal Republic of Germany sought annulment of a European Community directive that regulated advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products. The Court held that the Community legislature acted properly and within its authority when promulgating the Directive to remove obstacles to cross-border movement of goods by rectifying inconsistencies amongst the laws of Member-States while ensuring a high level of health protection. The Court further held that any indirect infringement by the Directive upon the freedom of expression was proportional to and justified by the purposes behind the Directive's adoption, noting that the restrictions did not compromise journalistic expression but applied only to commercial advertisements within journalistic media.