Case C-28/05: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 15 June 2006 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven –Netherlands) — G.J. Dokter, Maatschap Van den Top, W. Boekhout v Minister van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit (Agriculture — Control of foot-and-mouth disease — Directive 85/511/EEC — Directive 90/425/EEC — Examinations to detect foot-and mouth-disease carried out by a laboratory not listed in the annex to Directive 85/511/EEC — National authorities' discretion — Principle of proportionality — Principle of respect for the rights of the defence)
Date: 2006-08-12
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU law - national law, directory, foot-and-mouth disease, interpretation of the law, medical diagnosis, research body, veterinary legislation

12.8.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 190/5

2. National legislation in which provision is made for entitlement to
benefits additional to those provided for in Article 22(1) of Regu-
lation No 1408/71, as amended and updated by Regulation
No 118/97, in the situation covered by paragraph (1)(a) of that
article, but not in that covered by paragraph (1)(c) thereof, does
not obstruct the direct effect of that provision or infringe the prin-
ciple of cooperation in good faith stemming from Article 10 EC.

(1) OJ C 19, 22.01.2005.

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — College van Beroep voor
het bedrijfsleven — Interpretation of Council Directive
85/511/EEC of 18 November 1985 introducing Community
measures for the control of foot-and-mouth disease (OJ 1985 L
315, p. 11) — Article 11(1), first indent, Article 13(1), second
indent, and Annex B — Direct effect — Laboratory not listed
in Annex B — National authorities' discretion

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 15 June 2006
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the College van
Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven –Netherlands) — G.J.
Dokter, Maatschap Van den Top, W. Boekhout v Minister
van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit

(Case C-28/05) (1)

(Agriculture — Control of foot-and-mouth disease — Direc-
tive 85/511/EEC — Directive 90/425/EEC — Examinations
to detect foot-and mouth-disease carried out by a laboratory
not listed in the annex to Directive 85/511/EEC — National
authorities' discretion — Principle of proportionality — Prin-
ciple of respect for the rights of the defence)

(2006/C 190/08)

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven

Operative part of the judgment

The Court hereby rules:

1. Council Directive 85/511/EEC of 18 November 1985 intro-
ducing Community measures for the control of foot-and-mouth
disease, as amended by Council Directive 90/423/EEC of 26 June
1990, must be interpreted as meaning that changes to the parti-
culars of a laboratory included in Annex B to that directive, which
were not entered in accordance with the procedure provided for in
Article 17 of the directive,
lead to that laboratory's losing its
status as a laboratory included in that annex only if those changes
are likely to have repercussions on the safety of the laboratory as
regards the risk of dissemination of
the foot-and-mouth virus
during the examinations performed by the laboratory and thus
increase the risk of contamination of susceptible local animals.
Moreover, Directive 85/511 does not preclude a Member State
from taking the measures
foot-and-mouth disease
provided for in Article 10(1) of Council Directive 90/425/EEC of
26 June 1990 concerning veterinary and zootechnical checks
applicable in intra-Community trade in certain live animals and
products with a view to the completion of the internal market on
the basis of results of an examination carried out by a laboratory
which is not included in Annex B to Directive 85/511.

to control

2. The competent authority is required to follow up the results of
examinations provided by a laboratory which has the status of a
laboratory listed in Annex B to Directive 85/511 and to adopt,
in principle, the measures provided for in that directive or any
other measure required, given the need to control foot-and-mouth
disease promptly and effectively. The
competent authority is
required to take into consideration even results provided by a
laboratory which does not have that status in order to adopt,
where necessary, the appropriate measures provided for by Com-
munity legislation. However, as that laboratory no longer necessa-
rily offers the same guarantees of reliability as a laboratory having
the competent
the status of a laboratory listed in Annex B,
authority must make sure, before taking the appropriate measures,
that those results are reliable. In any event, the authority may
adopt measures to control foot-and-mouth disease only in compli-
ance with the general principles of Community law, including in
particular the principle of proportionality and fundamental rights.

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: G.J. Dokter, Maatschap Van den Top, W. Boekhout

(1) OJ C 93, 16.04.2005.

Defendant: Minister van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit