EN Official Journal of the European Union C 269/9

Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 21 July 2011 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, Queen’s Bench Division (Administrative Court) — Nickel Institute v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

(Case C-14/10) (1)

(Environment and protection of human health - Directive 67/548/EEC - Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 - Classification of nickel carbonates, nickel hydroxides and a number of grouped nickel substances as dangerous substances - Validity of Directives 2008/58/EC and 2009/2/EC and of Regulation (EC) No 790/2009 - Adaptation of the classifications to technical and scientific progress - Validity - Methods of assessing the intrinsic properties of those substances - Manifest error of assessment - Legal basis - Obligation to state reasons)

2011/C 269/14

Language of the case: English

Referring court

High Court of Justice of England and Wales, Queen’s Bench Division (Administrative Court)

Parties to the main proceedings

Claimant: Nickel Institute

Defendant: Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — High Court of Justice of England and Wales, Queen’s Bench Division (Administrative Court) — Validity, so far as concerns the reclassification of nickel carbonates as carcinogenic substances, of Commission Directive 2008/58/EC of 21 August 2008 amending, for the purpose of its adaptation to technical progress, for the 30th time, Council Directive 67/548/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances (OJ 2008 L 246, p. 1) and of Commission Regulation (EC) No 790/2009 of 10 August 2009 amending, for the purposes of its adaptation to technical and scientific progress, Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (OJ 2009 L 235, p. 1) — Inadequate assessment of the intrinsic properties of the nickel carbonates in relation to the requirements laid down in Annex VI to Directive 67/548/EEC

Operative part of the judgment

Examination of the questions referred for a preliminary ruling has disclosed no factor of such a kind as to affect the validity, first, of Commission Directive 2008/58/EC of 21 August 2008 amending, for the purpose of its adaptation to technical progress, for the 30th time, Council Directive 67/548/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances and of Commission Directive 2009/2/EC of 15 January 2009 amending, for the purpose of its adaptation to technical progress, for the 31st time, Council Directive 67/548/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances and, second, of Commission Regulation (EC) No 790/2009 of 10 August 2009 amending, for the purposes of its adaptation to technical and scientific progress, Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, in so far as those directives and that regulation classified as carcinogenic to man in category 1, mutagenic in category 3 and reprotoxic in category 2 substances such as certain nickel carbonates, the nickel hydroxides and other grouped nickel substances at issue in the main proceedings.

(1) OJ C 63, 13.3.2010.