Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2003:256
Date: 2003-05-08
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: Protection of public health and protection of plants
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Sweden

Summary of the Judgment 
Free movement of goods — Quantitative restrictions — Measures having equivalent 
effect — Medicinal products — Withdrawal of a parallel import licence solely because of 
I - 4 1 7 5 
SUMMARY — CASE C-15/01 
the withdrawal of the reference marketing authorisation at the request of the holder — 
Not permissible — justification — Protection of public health — Risk to the health of 
humans as a result of the continued existence of the medicinal product on the market of 
the Member State concerned 
(Arts 28 EC and 30 EC) 
Article 28 EC and Article 30 EC preclude 
national legislation under which the with­
drawal, at the request of its holder, of the 
marketing authorisation of reference of 
itself entails the withdrawal of the parallel 
import licence granted for the medicinal 
product in question. 
However, those provisions do not preclude 
restrictions on parallel imports of the 
medicinal product in question if there is in 
fact a risk to the health of humans as a 
result of the continued existence of that 
medicinal product on the market of the 
importing Member State. 
(see para. 33, operative part) 
I - 4176