Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 9 September 2004 in Case C-70/03: Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive 93/13/EEC — Unfair terms in consumer contracts — Rules of interpretation — Rules concerning conflict of laws)
Date: 2004-10-23
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Spain, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, contract, national implementing measure, unfair terms of contract

23.10.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 262/9

Hydrocarbons which are unintentionally spilled and cause soil and
groundwater contamination are waste within the meaning of Article
1(a) of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste, as
amended by Council Directive 91/156/EEC of 18 March 1991. The
same is true for soil contaminated by hydrocarbons, even if it has not
been excavated. In circumstances such as those in the main proceed-
ings, the petroleum undertaking which supplied the service station can
be considered to be the holder of that waste within the meaning of
Article 1(c) of Directive 75/442 only if the leak from the service
station's storage facilities which gave rise to the waste can be attrib-
uted to the conduct of that undertaking.

(1) OJ C 44 of 22.2.2003.

2. Orders the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 146 of 21.6.2003.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(First Chamber)

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

of 9 September 2004

(First Chamber)

of 9 September 2004

in Case C-72/03 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Commissione tributaria di Massa): Carbonati Apuani
Srl v Comune di Carrara (1)

in Case C-70/03: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Kingdom of Spain (1)

(Charges having effect equivalent to a customs duty — Tax
levied on marble excavated in the territory of a municipality
on its being transported across the boundaries of the muni-
cipal territory)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
93/13/EEC — Unfair terms in consumer contracts — Rules
of interpretation — Rules concerning conflict of laws)

(2004/C 262/18)

(Language of the case: Italian)

(2004/C 262/17)

(Language of the case: Spanish)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published in
the European Court Reports)

In Case C-70/03: action under Article 226 EC for failure to
fulfil obligations brought on 17 February 2003, Commission of
the European Communities (Agents: I. Martínez del Peral and
M. França) v Kingdom of Spain (Agent: L. Fraguas Gadea) —
the Court (First Chamber), composed of: P. Jann (Rapporteur),
President of the Chamber, A. Rosas and R. Silva de Lapuerta,
Judges; L.A. Geelhoed, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar,
has given a judgment on 9 September 2004, in which it:

1. Declares that, by failing correctly to transpose into national law
Articles 5 and 6(2) of Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April
1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts, the Kingdom of
Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive;

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published in
the European Court Reports)

In Case C-72/03: reference for a preliminary ruling under
Article 234 EC from the Commissione tributaria di Massa
Carrara (Italy), by decision of 11 December 2002, registered at
the Court on 18 February 2003, in the proceedings brought by
Carbonati Apuani Srl v Comune di Carrara — the Court (First
Chamber), composed of: P. Jann, President of the Chamber, A.
Rosas, S. von Bahr, R. Silva de Lapuerta and K. Lenaerts
(Rapporteur), Judges; M. Poiares Maduro, Advocate General; L.
Hewlett, Principal Administrator, gave a judgment on 9
September 2004, the operative part of which is as follows:

1. A tax proportionate to the weight of goods, levied in one munici-
pality of a Member State only and imposed on one class of goods
when those goods are transported beyond the territorial boundaries
of that municipality, constitutes a charge having effect equivalent
to a customs duty on exports within the meaning of Article 23
EC, despite the fact that it is imposed also on goods the final
destination of which is within the Member State concerned.