Judgment of the Court of 10 July 2003 in Joined Cases C-20/00 and C-64/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Court of Session): Booker Aquaculture Ltd, trading as "Marine Harvest McConnell" (C-20/00), Hydro Seafood GSP Ltd (C-64/00) v The Scottish Ministers (Directive 93/53/EEC — Destruction of fish stocks infected by viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VHS) and infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) — Compensation — Obligations of the Member State — Protection of fundamental rights, particularly of the right to property — Validity of Directive 93/53)
Date: 2003-08-23
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: fish farming, health control, indemnification, interpretation of the law, slaughter of animals, veterinary inspection

23.8.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 200/1

I

(Information)

COURT OF JUSTICE

COURT OF JUSTICE

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

of 10 July 2003

J.N. Cunha Rodrigues,
J. Mischo, Advocate General;
H.A. Rühl, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given
a judgment on 10 July 2003, in which it has ruled:

Judges;

in Joined Cases C-20/00 and C-64/00 (Reference for a
preliminary ruling from the Court of Session): Booker
Aquaculture Ltd, trading as ‘Marine Harvest McConnell’
(C-20/00), Hydro Seafood GSP Ltd (C-64/00) v The Scot-
tish Ministers (1)

(Directive 93/53/EEC — Destruction of fish stocks infected
by viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VHS) and infectious
salmon anaemia (ISA) — Compensation — Obligations of
the Member State — Protection of
rights,
particularly of the right to property — Validity of Directive
93/53)

fundamental

(2003/C 200/01)

(Language of the case: English)

‘Marine Harvest McConnell’

In Joined Cases C-20/00 and C-64/00: Reference to the Court
under Article 234 EC by the Court of Session (Scotland)
(United Kingdom) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings
pending before that court between Booker Aquaculture Ltd,
(C-20/00), Hydro
trading as
Seafood GSP Ltd (C-64/00) and The Scottish Ministers, on the
interpretation of
the principles of Community law on the
protection of fundamental rights, in particular of the right to
property, and on the validity of Council Directive 93/53/EEC
of 24 June 1993 introducing minimum Community measures
for the control of certain fish diseases (OJ 1993 L 175, p. 23),
the Court, composed of: G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias, President, J.-
P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen and C.W.A. Timmermans (Presi-
dents of Chambers), C. Gulmann, D.A.O. Edward, A. La
Pergola, F. Macken (Rapporteur), N. Colneric, S. von Bahr and

1.

2.

3.

Examination of the fourth question referred for a preliminary
ruling in Case C-64/00 has disclosed no factor of such a kind
the validity of Council Directive 93/53/EEC of
as to affect
24 June 1993 introducing minimum Community measures for
the control of certain fish diseases, by reason of its laying down
minimum measures to control diseases in List I in Annex A to
Council Directive 91/67/EEC of 28 January 1991 concerning
the animal health conditions governing the placing on the
market of aquaculture animals and products, as amended by
Council Directive 93/54/EEC of 24 June 1993, without
providing for
those
measures.

compensation for owners affected by

The measures for the immediate destruction and slaughter of
fish implemented by a Member State in order to control List I
and II diseases in the context of the application of Directive
to the
93/53, which are,
minimum measures which the Community has laid down for
List I diseases and which do not provide for compensation, are
not,
in circumstances such as those in the main proceedings,
incompatible with the fundamental right to property.

identical and similar

respectively,

In circumstances such as those in the main proceedings, the fact
that the outbreak of the disease is due or not due to the fish
owner's fault has no bearing on the compatibility with the
fundamental right to property of
the measures imposed by a
Member State in order to control List I and II diseases in the
context of the application of Directive 93/53.

(1) OJ C 79 of 18.3.2000, OJ C 122 of 29.4.2000.