Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of  10 January 2006  in Case C-402/03: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Vestre Landsret in Skov Æg v Bilka Lavprisvarehus A/S and Bilka Lavprisvarehus A/S v Jette Mikkelsen, Michael Due Nielsen (Directive 85/374/EEC — Liability for defective products — Liability of the supplier of a defective product)
Date: 2006-02-25
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: action for annulment (EU), consumer protection, defective product, producer's liability, product safety, supplier

C 48/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.2.2006

— the condition laid down in that same provision for the purpose
of a derogation, relating to the fact that hunting must concern
only the taking of birds in small numbers, was fulfilled in
respect of eider, goosander, red-breasted merganser and velvet
scoter;

the Republic of Finland has failed to fulfil its obligations under
that directive;

2. Dismisses the remainder of the action;

3. Orders the Republic of Finland to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 226 of 20.09.2003.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Grand Chamber)

of 10 January 2006

in Case C-402/03: Reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Vestre Landsret in Skov Æg v Bilka Lavprisvarehus A/
S and Bilka Lavprisvarehus A/S v Jette Mikkelsen, Michael
Due Nielsen (1)

(Directive 85/374/EEC — Liability for defective products —
Liability of the supplier of a defective product)

(2006/C 48/07)

(Language of the case: Danish)

In Case C-402/03: reference for a preliminary ruling under
Article 234 EC from the Vestre Landsret (Denmark), made by
decision of 26 September 2003, received at
the Court on
29 September 2003, in the proceedings between Skov Æg and
Bilka Lavprisvarehus A/S and between Bilka Lavprisvarehus A/S
and Jette Mikkelsen, Michael Due Nielsen — the Court (Grand
Chamber),
Jann
(Rapporteur), C.W.A. Timmermans, A. Rosas, K. Schiemann
and J. Makarczyk, Presidents of Chambers, C. Gulmann, J.N.
Cunha Rodrigues, R. Silva de Lapuerta, K. Lenaerts, P. Kūris, E.
Juhász and G. Arestis, Judges; L.A. Geelhoed, Advocate General;
H. von Holstein, Deputy Registrar, for the Registrar, gave a
judgment on 10 January 2006, in which it ruled:

composed of V. Skouris, President, P.

Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approxima-
tion of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the
Member States concerning liability for defective products must be
interpreted as:

— precluding a national rule under which the supplier is answerable,
beyond the cases listed exhaustively in Article 3(3) of the directive,
for
liability which the directive establishes and
imposes on the producer;

the no-fault

— not precluding a national rule under which the supplier is answer-
able without restriction for the producer's fault-based liability.

(1) OJ C 304 of 13.12.2003.

Judgment of the Court

(First Chamber)

of 15 December 2005

in Case C-26/04: Commission of the European Commu-
nities v Kingdom of Spain (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
76/160/EEC — Quality of bathing waters — Designation as
bathing areas — Directive 79/923/EEC — Quality of shell-
fish waters — Establishment of a pollution reduction
programme)

(2006/C 48/08)

(Language of the case: Spanish)

In Case C-26/04, action under Article 226 EC for failure to
fulfil obligations, brought on 27 January 2004, Commission
of the European Communities (Agent: M.G.Valero Jordana) v
Kingdom of Spain (Agent: M.E. Braquehais Conesa) — the
Court (First Chamber), composed of P. Jann, President of the
J.N. Cunha Rodrigues
Chamber, K. Schiemann, N. Colneric,
Jacobs, Advocate
(Rapporteur) and E. Levits,
General; R. Grass, Registrar, gave a judgment on 15 December
2005, in which it:

Judges; F.G.

1. Declares that, by failing to adopt a pollution reduction programme
for the shellfish waters of the Ría de Vigo, the Kingdom of Spain
has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5 of Council Direc-
tive 79/923/EEC of 30 October 1979 on the quality required of
shellfish waters;

2. Dismisses the remainder of the action;

3. Orders the Commission of the European Communities and the

Kingdom of Spain to bear their own costs.

(1) OJ C 71 of 20.03.2004.