62022CO0174_INF
Order of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 1 December 2023 –EV (Drug precursors)
(Case C‑174/22) (
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)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice – Drug precursors – Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA – Article 2(1)(d) – Person involved in the transport and distribution of precursors used for the illicit production or manufacture of drugs – Regulation (EC) No 273/2004 – Scheduled substances – Article 2 – Concept of ‘operator’ – Article 8(1) – Circumstances suggesting that scheduled substances might be diverted for the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances – Obligation to notify those circumstances – Concept of ‘circumstance’ – Scope)
1.
Questions referred for a preliminary ruling – Questions the answer to which may be clearly deduced from the Court's existing case-law – Application of Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure
(Art. 267 TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 99)
(see paragraphs 35, 36)
2.
Approximation of laws – Monitoring of trade in drug precursors – Regulation No 273/2004 – Scope – Person in possession, in the context of an illegal activity, of scheduled substances in the Union – Not included – Person in possession of substances without a licence or registration – Irrelevant
(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 273/2004, recitals 1 to 6 and Annex 1)
(see paragraphs 39-48, operative part)
Operative part
Regulation (EC) No 273/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 on drug precursors, as amended by Regulation (EU) No 1258/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013,
must be interpreted as not applying to a situation in which a person is in possession, in the context of an illegal activity, of scheduled substances of category 3 of Annex I to that regulation. The fact that that person was in possession of such substances without a licence or registration is irrelevant in that regard.
(
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)	OJ C 191, 10.5.2022.