Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2003:475
Date: 2003-09-18
Language of the case: Italian
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Free movement of goods;Measures having equivalent effect;Quantitative restrictions
Concepts: Direct effect, primacy and uniform application of the Community law;Rules concerning the production, denomination and marketing of products;General;Protection of public health and protection of plants;Definition
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Italy

SUMMARY — CASE C-416/00 
S u m m a r y of the J u d g m e n t 
1. Free movement of goods — Quantitative restrictions — Measures having equivalent 
effect — Obstacles resulting from national provisions regulating selling arrangements 
in a non-discriminatory way — Concept — Requirement of specific packaging in 
respect of a given product — Not included 
(EC Treaty, Art. 30 (now, after amendment, Art. 28 EC)) 
2. Free movement of goods — Quantitative restrictions — Measures having equivalent 
effect — Legislation requiring, prior to its sale, packaging of imported pre-baked 
bread after completion of final baking in the Member State of import — Whether 
permissible — Condition — Measure which applies without distinction and which 
does not constitute discrimination against imported products — Assessment by the 
national court — Possible justification — Protection of public health — Excluded 
(EC Treaty, Arts 30 and 36 (now, after amendment, Arts 28 EC and 30 EC)) 
3. Free movement of goods — Quantitative restrictions — Measures having equivalent 
effect — Treaty provisions — Direct effect — Obligations of national courts — 
Non-application of national provisions which are incompatible with those provisions 
(EC Treaty, Art. 30 (now, after amendment, Art. 28 EC)) 
1. Legislation of a Member State which 
prohibits a product that is lawfully 
manufactured and marketed in another 
Member State from being put on sale in 
the first Member State without being 
subjected to new packaging of a spe­
cific type that complies wi th the 
requirements of that legislation cannot 
be held to concern selling arrangements 
that are not likely to hinder directly or 
indirectly, actually or potentially, trade 
between Member States. The need to 
alter the packaging or the labelling of 
impor ted p roduc t s prevents such 
requirements from constituting selling 
arrangements. 
(see paras 29-30) 
2. The requirement for prior packaging 
imposed by the law of a Member State 
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MORELLATO 
on the sale of bread obtained by 
completing, in that Member State, the 
baking of partly baked bread, whether 
deep-frozen or not, that has been 
imported from another Member State 
does not constitute a quantitative 
restriction or a measure having equiv­
alent effect within the meaning of 
Article 30 of the Treaty (now, after 
amendment, Article 28 EC), provided 
that it applies without distinction to 
both national and imported products 
and that it does not in reality consti­
tute discrimination against imported 
products. 
If the national court, in examining 
these measures, finds that that require­
ment results in an obstacle to imports, 
then it cannot be justified by reasons 
relating to the protection of the health 
and life of humans within the meaning 
of Article 36 of the Treaty (now, after 
amendment, Article 30 EC). 
(see para. 42, operative part 1) 
3. National courts have an obligation to 
ensure the full effect of Article 30 of the 
Treaty (now, after amendment, 
Article 28 EC) by disapplying on their 
own initiative domestic provisions 
which do not comply with that article. 
(see para. 45, operative part 2) 
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