Case C-88/07: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 5 March 2009 — Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain (Articles 28 EC and 30 EC — Free movement of goods — Directive 2001/83/EC — Products based on medicinal herbs — Products classified as medicinal products — Products lawfully produced or marketed as food supplements or dietary products in other Member States — Meaning of medicinal product — Marketing authorisation — Restriction — Justification — Public health — Consumer protection — Proportionality — Decision No 3052/95/EC — Procedure for the exchange of information on national measures derogating from the principle of the free movement of goods within the Community)
Date: 2009-03-05
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Spain, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, marketing restriction, medical plant, medicinal product, withdrawal from the market








C_2009102EN.01000301.xml










1.5.2009   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 102/3





Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 5 March 2009 — Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain
(Case C-88/07) (1)

(Articles 28 EC and 30 EC - Free movement of goods - Directive 2001/83/EC - Products based on medicinal herbs - Products classified as medicinal products - Products lawfully produced or marketed as food supplements or dietary products in other Member States - Meaning of ‘medicinal product’ - Marketing authorisation - Restriction - Justification - Public health - Consumer protection - Proportionality - Decision No 3052/95/EC - Procedure for the exchange of information on national measures derogating from the principle of the free movement of goods within the Community)
2009/C 102/04
Language of the case: Spanish

Parties


Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (represented by: S. Pardo Quintillán and A. Alcover San Pedro, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Kingdom of Spain (represented by: J. Rodríguez Cárcamo, acting as Agent)

Re:

Failure to fulfil obligations — Infringement of Arts 28 EC and 30 EC — Infringement of Arts 1 and 4 of Decision No 3052/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1995 establishing a procedure for the exchange of information on national measures derogating from the principle of the free movement of goods within the Community (OJ 1995 L 321, p. 1)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.








—


declares that, by withdrawing from the market products based on medicinal herbs lawfully produced and/or marketed in another Member State, under an administrative practice consisting in withdrawing from the market any product based on medicinal herbs not included either in the annex to the Ministerial Order on the creation of a special register of medicinal herb-based preparations (Orden Ministerial por la que se establece el registro especial para preparados a base de especies vegetales) of 3 October 1973, as amended, or in the annex to the Order SCO/190/2004 of the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs, establishing the list of plants sale of which to the public is prohibited or restricted because of their toxicity (Orden SCO/190/2004 por la que se establece la lista de plantas cuya venta al público queda prohibida o restringida por razón de su toxicidad) of 28 January 2004, other than a preparation the constituents of which are exclusively one or more medicinal herbs or whole parts of such herbs, or crushed or powdered parts of such herbs, on the ground that that product is deemed to be a medicinal product marketed without the requisite marketing authorisation, and










—


by not communicating that measure to the Commission of the European Communities,




the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 28 EC and 30 EC and Articles 1 and 4 of Decision No 3052/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1995 establishing a procedure for the exchange of information on national measures derogating from the principle of the free movement of goods within the Community.










2.


Orders the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.






(1)  OJ C 95, 28.4.2007.