Joined Cases C-213/11, C-214/11 and C-217/11: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 19 July 2012 (references for a preliminary ruling from the Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny w Gdańsku — Poland) — Fortuna sp. z o.o. (C-213/11), Grand sp. z o.o. (C-214/11), Forta sp. z o.o. (C-217/11) v Dyrektor Izby Celnej w Gdyni (Internal market — Directive 98/34/EC — Technical standards and regulations — Procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations — Low-prize gaming machines — Prohibition of the amendment, extension and issue of operating authorisations — Concept of ‘technical regulation’ )
Date: 2012-07-19
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Poland, game of chance, technical rule








C_2012295EN.01001201.xml










29.9.2012   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 295/12





Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 19 July 2012 (references for a preliminary ruling from the Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny w Gdańsku — Poland) — Fortuna sp. z o.o. (C-213/11), Grand sp. z o.o. (C-214/11), Forta sp. z o.o. (C-217/11) v Dyrektor Izby Celnej w Gdyni
(Joined Cases C-213/11, C-214/11 and C-217/11) (1)

(Internal market - Directive 98/34/EC - Technical standards and regulations - Procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations - Low-prize gaming machines - Prohibition of the amendment, extension and issue of operating authorisations - Concept of ‘technical regulation’)
2012/C 295/19
Language of the case: Polish

Referring court

Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny w Gdańsku

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: Fortuna sp. z o.o. (C-213/11), Grand sp. z o.o. (C-214/11), Forta sp. z o.o. (C-217/11)

Defendant: Dyrektor Izby Celnej w Gdyni

Re:

References for a preliminary ruling — Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny w Gdańsku — Interpretation of Article 1(11) of Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services, as amended by Council Directive 2006/96/EC of 20 November 2006 (OJ 1998 L 204, p. 37) — Concept of ‘technical regulation’ — National provision prohibiting the amendment of an operating authorisation for low-prize gaming machines in respect of a change of the place in which those machines are installed

Operative part of the judgment

Article 1(11) of Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services, as amended by Council Directive 2006/96/EC of 20 November 2006, must be interpreted as meaning that national provisions, such as those of the Law on games of chance (ustawa o grach hazardowich) of 19 November 2009, which could have the effect of limiting, or even gradually rendering impossible, the running of gaming on low-prize machines anywhere other than in casinos and gaming arcades are capable of constituting ‘technical regulations’, within the meaning of that provision, the drafts of which must be the subject of communication as provided for in the first subparagraph of Article 8(1) of the directive, in so far as it is established that those provisions constitute conditions which can significantly influence the nature or the marketing of the product concerned, which is a matter for the referring court to determine.


(1)  OJ C 219, 23.7.2011.