Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2001:439
Date: 2001-09-13
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Free movement of goods;Measures having equivalent effect;Approximation of laws;Quantitative restrictions
Concepts: Rules concerning the production, denomination and marketing of products;Cosmetic products
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

SUMMARY — CASE C-169/99 
Summary of the Judgment 
1. Free movement of goods — Quantitative restrictions —Measures having equivalent 
effect — Language requirements, authorised by Directive 76/768, for cosmetic 
products — Measures justified to protect public health 
(EC Treaty, Art. 30 (now, after amendment, Article 28 EC); Council Directive 76/768, 
Art. 7(2)) 
2. Approximation of laws — Cosmetic products — Packaging and labelling — Direc­
tive 76/768 — Compulsory indication on the container and packaging of particular 
precautions to be observed in use — Exception — Impossible for practical reasons — 
Definition — Specific case 
(Council Directive 76/768, Art. 6(1) (d)) 
1. National linguistic requirements such 
as those authorised by Article 7(2) of 
Directive 76/768 on the approximation 
of the laws of the Member States 
relating to cosmetic products, as amen­
ded by Directive 93/35, constitute an 
obstacle to intra-Community trade in 
that the products concerned must be 
given different labelling according to 
the language or languages prescribed in 
the Member State in which the pro­
ducts are marketed, thus entailing 
supplementary packaging costs. 
Those obstacles are, however, justified 
by the public interest objective of 
protecting public health. The informa­
tion which producers or distributors of 
cosmetic products covered by the 
amended Directive 76/768 are obliged 
to put on the product's container and 
packaging, save where it can be effec­
tively conveyed by the use of picto­
grammes or signs other than words, 
will be of no practical use unless it is 
given in a language which can be 
understood by the persons for whom 
it is intended. 
(see paras 39-40) 
2. It is not 'impossible for practical rea­
sons', within the meaning of the last 
sentence of Article 6(1)(d) of Directive 
76/768 on the approximation of the 
laws of the Member States relating to 
cosmetic products, as amended by 
Directive 93/35, to set out the compul­
sory warnings in full on the container 
and packaging of a cosmetic product in 
the language or languages prescribed in 
the Member State in which it is to be 
I - 5902 
SCHWARZKOPF 
marketed, where the producer or dis­
tributor wishes to label the product in 
nine languages, including eight official 
languages of the Community, for eco­
nomic considerations and in order to 
facilitate the movement of the product 
within the Community, and this entails 
abbreviating those warnings on the 
container and packaging. 
(see para. 42 and operative part) 
I - 5903