Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2016:425
Date: 2016-06-09
Language of the case: Hungarian
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: Environment;Waste
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Hungary

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 9 June 2016 1. Environment — Waste — Transfers — Regulation No 1013/2006 — Information having to accompany the transfer of certain types of waste — Incorrect or inconsistent information — Consequence — Illegal shipment (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1013/2006, as amended by Regulation No 255/2013, Arts 2(35)(g)(iii), 24 and Annex VII] 2. Environment — Waste — Transfers – Regulation No 1013/2006 — Information having to accompany the transfer of certain types of waste — Incorrect or inconsistent information — Penalty — Administrative fine — Proportionality — Criteria — To be determined by the national court (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1013/2006, as amended by Regulation No 255/2013, Arts 2(35)(g)(iii), 50(1) and Annex VII] 3. Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Admissibility — Limits — Clearly irrelevant questions and hypothetical questions put in a context not permitting a useful answer — Need to provide the Court with sufficient information on the factual and legislative context (Art. 267 TFEU) 1. Article 2(35)(g)(iii) of Regulation No 1013/2006 on shipments of waste, as amended by Regulation No 255/2013, must be interpreted as meaning that shipments of waste, such as those referred to in Annex III to that regulation, intended for recovery, must be considered illegal within the meaning of that provision when the document referred to in Annex VII to that same regulation relating to a shipment contains incorrect or inconsistent information, such as that contained in the accompanying documents at issue in the main proceedings, regarding the importer/consignee, the recovery facility and the countries/States concerned, irrespective of whether that information is given correctly in other documents made available to the competent authorities, the intention to mislead the authorities and the implementation of the procedures provided for in Article 24 of that same regulation by the authorities. It follows that, in a case where the accompanying document contains this kind of incorrect or inconsistent information, those missions of supervision and control cannot be performed in accordance with Regulation No 1013/2006, as the competent authorities, if not duly informed of the detailed rules for the shipment concerned, cannot ensure a proper tracking of the shipment in order to avoid environmental damage and activities that are harmful to human health. More specifically, regarding, firstly, the fact that correct information required to be stated in the accompanying document has been provided in other documents, it should be observed that the accompanying document must show the detailed information on the waste shipment, so that the objectives of supervision and control of shipments pursued by the regulation are achieved. That type of document has been drawn up through specific rules and is aimed at attaining objectives specific to the legislation on waste shipments, whilst other documents, such as the international consignment note or a commercial invoice, do not have that purpose. Moreover, irrespective of whether an error has been made intentionally, the fact remains that, when it gives rise to an inconsistency, it obliges the inspection authorities of the Member States concerned to conduct subsequent checks, thereby making it impossible to conduct an immediate inspection of the shipment solely on the basis of Annex VII to Regulation No 1013/2006, so that both types of errors must, at the very least at the stage of classification of the offence, be treated in the same manner. As regards, thirdly, the failure to implement the procedures provided for in Article 24 of Regulation No 1013/2006, it should be observed that neither that article nor any other provision of that regulation establishes a link between those procedures and the definition of an illegal shipment. On the contrary, as that article, as is clear from its wording, covers only waste being shipped illegally, a failure to implement those procedures does not affect the classification of the shipment concerned as an illegal shipment within the meaning of Article 2(35) of that regulation. In the light of the foregoing considerations, the answer to the first and third to fifth questions is that Article 2(35)(g)(iii) of Regulation No 1013/2006 must be interpreted as meaning that shipments of waste, such as those referred to in Annex III to that regulation, intended for recovery, must be considered illegal within the meaning of that provision when the accompanying document relating to a shipment contains incorrect or inconsistent information, such as that contained in the accompanying documents at issue in the main proceedings, regarding the importer/consignee, the recovery facility and the countries/States concerned, irrespective of whether that information is given correctly in other documents made available to the competent authorities, the intention to mislead the authorities and the implementation of the procedures provided for in Article 24 of that same regulation by the authorities. (see paras 36, 42, 45-47, operative part 1) 2. Article 50(1) of Regulation No 1013/2006, as amended by Regulation No 255/2013, under which the penalties imposed by the Member States in the event of infringement of the provisions of that regulation must be proportionate, must be interpreted as meaning that a waste shipment for which the accompanying document referred to in Annex VII thereto contains incorrect or inconsistent information may, in principle, be penalised by a fine the amount of which is the same as the fine imposed for infringement of the obligation to complete that document. In the review of proportionality of such a penalty, the referring court must take particular account of the risks which may be caused by that infringement in the field of protection of the environment and human health. Article 50(1) of Regulation No 1013/2006, as amended by Regulation No 255/2013, under which the penalties imposed by the Member States in the event of infringement of the provisions of that regulation must be proportionate, must be interpreted as meaning that a waste shipment for which the accompanying document referred to in Annex VII thereto contains incorrect or inconsistent information may, in principle, be penalised by a fine the amount of which is the same as the fine imposed for infringement of the obligation to complete that document. In the review of proportionality of such a penalty, the referring court must take particular account of the risks which may be caused by that infringement in the field of protection of the environment and human health. (see para. 56, operative part 2) 3. See the text of the decision. (see paras 58, 59)