Case C-252/05: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 10 May 2007 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the High Court of Justice (England & Wales) Queen's Bench Division (Administrative Court) United Kingdom — Thames Water Utilities Ltd, The Queen v South East London Division, Bromley Magistrates' Court (Waste — Directives 75/442/EEC, 91/156/EEC and 91/271/EEC — Waste water which escapes from a sewerage network — Classification — Scope of Directives 75/442/EEC and 91/271/EEC)
Date: 2007-06-21
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: industrial pollution, interpretation of the law, pollution control measures, urban area, wastewater, water treatment

23.6.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 140/3

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Declares that the Republic of Austria has failed to fulfil its obliga-
tions under Article 1(e), (g) and (i), Article 6(1) and (2), Articles
12 and 13, Article 16(1) and Article 22(b) of Council Directive
92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habi-
tats and of wild fauna and flora;

2. Dismisses the remainder of the action;

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

(1) OJ C 45, 19.02.2005.

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 10 May 2007
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the High Court of
Justice (England & Wales) Queen's Bench Division (Admin-
istrative Court) United Kingdom — Thames Water Utilities
Ltd, The Queen v South East London Division, Bromley
Magistrates' Court

(Case C-252/05) (1)

(Waste — Directives
91/156/EEC and
91/271/EEC — Waste water which escapes from a sewerage
network — Classification — Scope of Directives 75/442/EEC
and 91/271/EEC)

75/442/EEC,

(2007/C 140/04)

Language of the case: English

Directive 91/156/EEC of 18 March 1991 (OJ 1991 L 78, p. 32)
— Concept of waste — Effluent from leaks in sewage pipes

Operative part of the judgment

1) Waste water which escapes from a sewerage network maintained by
to Council Directive
a statutory sewerage undertaker pursuant
91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste water
treatment and the legislation enacted to transpose that directive
constitutes waste within the meaning of Council Directive
75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste, as amended by Council
Directive 91/156/EEC of 18 March 1991;

2) Directive 91/271 is not ‘other legislation’ within the meaning of
Article 2(1)(b) of Directive 75/442, as amended by Directive
in
91/156. It falls to the national court to ascertain whether,
accordance with the criteria set out in the present judgment, the
national rules may be regarded as being ‘other legislation’ within
the meaning of that provision. Such is the case if those national
rules contain precise provisions organising the management of the
waste in question and if they are such as to ensure a level of protec-
tion of the environment equivalent to that guaranteed by Directive
75/442, as amended by Directive 91/156, and, more particularly,
by Articles 4, 8 and 15.

3) Directive 91/271 cannot be considered, as regards the management
of waste water which escapes from a sewerage network,
to be
special legislation (a lex specialis) vis-à-vis Directive 75/442, as
amended by Directive 91/156, and cannot therefore be applied
pursuant to Article 2(2) of Directive 75/442.

(1) OJ C 205, 20.08.2005.

Referring court

High Court of Justice (England & Wales) Queen's Bench Division
(Administrative Court)

Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 3 May 2007
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the Arbitragehof,
Belgium) — Advocaten voor de Wereld VZW v Leden van
de Ministerraad

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Thames Water Utilities Ltd, The Queen

Defendant: South East London Division, Bromley Magistrates'
Court

Intervener in support of the applicant: Environment Agency

(Case C-303/05) (1)

(Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters — Articles
6(2) EU and 34(2)(b) EU — Framework Decision
2002/584/JHA — European arrest warrant and surrender
procedures between Member States — Approximation of
national laws — Removal of verification of double criminality
— Validity)

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — High Court of Justice
(England and Wales), Queen's Bench Division (Administrative
Court) — Interpretation of Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21
May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment (OJ 1991
L 135, p. 40) and of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July
1975 on waste (OJ 1975 L 194, p. 39), as amended by Council

Referring court

Arbitragehof

(2007/C 140/05)

Language of the case: Dutch