Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2014:141
Date: 2014-03-13
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Sixth Chamber
Subject matter: Approximation of laws
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber), 13 March 2014 Approximation of laws — Electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits — Directive 2006/95 — Definition of electrical equipment — Housing for multipole connectors for industrial use — Included — Conditions — Limits (European Parliament and Council Directive 2006/95, Arts 1 and 2(1)) Article 1 of Directive 2006/95 on the harmonisation of the laws of Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits must be interpreted as meaning that housing for multipole connectors for industrial use is covered by the definition of ‘electrical equipment’ for the purposes of that provision and must, therefore, bear the CE marking as long as its proper incorporation and use for the purpose for which it was made does not mean that it ceases to comply with the relevant safety requirements for which it has been examined. However, since Article 2(1) of Directive 2006/95 states, essentially, that only electrical equipment which does not endanger the safety of persons or property may be placed on the market, the CE marking cannot be affixed to a component which constitutes electrical equipment where its safety depends essentially on the manner in which it is incorporated into the final electrical appliance. In such circumstances, first, since the quality of that component does not enable the safety of the electrical appliance into which it is incorporated to be prejudged, the affixation of the CE marking on that component would be likely to mislead the user of that appliance. Second, incorporation might alter the conformity of that component with the safety requirements which had been previously established and that of the electrical appliance into which the component at issue has been incorporated. (see paras 33, 34, 40, operative part)