Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2000:158
Date: 2000-06-21
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Single Judge
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Milk products;Non-contractual liability
Concepts: Basis of liability
Procedure: Action for damages - unfounded
Origin: France

Summary of the Judgment 
Non-contractual liability — Conditions — Unlawful conduct of the institutions — Milk 
producers deprived of reference quantities under the additional levy scheme following 
their suspension of deliveries under conversion premium arrangements — Producer not 
resuming production on expiry of his conversion undertaking — Breach of the principle of 
protection of legitimate expectations — None 
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SUMMARY — CASE T-429/93 
The Community cannot be held liable, as a 
result of the application of Regulation 
No 857/84 fixing, within the context of 
the additional levy scheme for milk, the 
reference quantity for each producer on the 
basis of the production delivered during a 
reference year, to a producer who, follow­
ing an undertaking under Regulation 
No 1078/77 to convert his herd for a 
period of four years, has not shown that 
he intends to produce milk after the 
conversion period. 
"While the producer did manifest such an 
intention several years after that period, he 
could not have a legitimate expectation in 
the possibility of resuming milk production 
at some unspecified future date. In the 
sphere of the common organisations of the 
market, whose purpose involves constant 
adjustments to meet changes in the eco­
nomic situation, economic operators can­
not legitimately expect that they will not be 
subject to restrictions which may arise out 
of future rules of market or structural 
policy. 
(see paras 46, 49-50) 
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