THE COURT THAT , AS REGARDS THE CUTTING AND BONING OF BOVINE CARCASES , THERE ARE MANY CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES , WHICH MAY VARY NOT ONLY FROM MEMBER STATE TO MEMBER STATE BUT EVEN FROM REGION TO REGION . THE VARIOUS CUTTING AND BONING METHODS ORIGINATE IN PARTICULAR IN CONSUMER HABITS AND TRADE PRACTICES IN THE DIFFERENT MEMBER STATES AND REGIONS . THE MEANING OF THE TERMS USED IN THE VARIOUS LANGUAGE VERSIONS OF REGULATION NO 2787/81 MAY THEREFORE VARY FROM ONE MEMBER STATE OR REGION TO ANOTHER , DEPENDING ON THE METHOD HABITUALLY USED TO CUT AND BONE BOVINE CARCASES .
11 THE NEED FOR A UNIFORM APPLICATION OF COMMUNITY LAW AND THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY REQUIRE THAT THE TERMS OF A PROVISION OF COMMUNITY LAW WHICH MAKES NO EXPRESS REFERENCE TO THE LAW OF THE MEMBER STATES FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING ITS MEANING AND SCOPE MUST NORMALLY BE GIVEN AN INDEPENDENT AND UNIFORM INTERPRETATION THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY ; THAT INTERPRETATION MUST TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE CONTEXT OF THE PROVISION AND THE PURPOSE OF THE RELEVANT REGULATIONS .
12 AS THE COMMISSION HAS EXPLAINED , THE PURPOSE OF THE PROVISION IN QUESTION IS TO PREVENT THE PAYMENT OF REFUNDS ON LOW-VALUE CUTS OF MEAT , FOR WHICH THERE IS SUFFICIENT DEMAND IN THE COMMUNITY MEAT-PROCESSING INDUSTRY . HOWEVER , LIKE THE VARIOUS METHODS FOR CUTTING AND BONING BOVINE CARCASES , THE DETERMINATION OF THE SHAPE AND EXACT SIZE OF THE PART OF THE ABDOMINAL WALL WHICH SHOULD BE REGARDED AS HAVING A LOWER VALUE DEPENDS ON CONSUMER HABITS AND TRADE PRACTICES , WHICH VARY FROM ONE MEMBER STATE OR REGION TO ANOTHER . IT IS THEREFORE IMPOSSIBLE TO DEDUCE A PRECISE ANATOMICAL DEFINITION OF THAT PART OF THE CARCASE FROM THE PURPOSE OF THE RELEVANT COMMUNITY PROVISION .
13 IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY SUCH INDICATION IN REGULATION NO 2787/81 , IT CANNOT BE ASSUMEND THAT THE COMMUNITY LEGISLATURE INTENDED , IN A REGULATION GOVERNING REFUNDS ON EXPORTS OF MEAT , TO HARMONIZE OR STANDARDIZE THE CUTTING AND BONING METHODS USED IN THE VARIOUS MEMBER STATES . ON THE CONTRARY , IT IS CLEAR FROM THE COMMISSION ' S REPLY TO A QUESTION PUT BY THE COURT THAT WHEN REGULATION NO 2787/81 WAS ADOPTED THE COMMISSION WAS AWARE OF THE DIFFERENCES IN THE EXACT MEANING OF THE TERMS USED IN THE REGULATION BUT CONSIDERED THAT THEY WERE OF MINOR IMPORTANCE AND DID NOT JUSTIFY MODIFYING THE EXISTING PRACTICES AND METHODS .
14 BY THUS ACCEPTING THAT THOSE TERMS MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT MEANINGS THE COMMISSION INCORPORATED INTO ITS REGULATION AN IMPLIED REFERENCE TO THE CUTTING AND BONING METHODS USED IN THE VARIOUS MEMBER STATES AND REGIONS . THEREFORE , NOTWITHSTANDING THE AFOREMENTIONED PRINCIPLE THAT PROVISIONS OF COMMUNITY LAW SHOULD BE INTERPRETED UNIFORMLY , IT IS NOT FOR THE COURT TO GIVE A UNIFORM COMMUNITY DEFINITION OF THOSE TERMS .
15 FOR THE PRECISE ANATOMICAL DEFINITION OF THE CUT OF MEAT CALLED ' ' THIN FLANK ' ' REFERENCE MUST