CELEX: C1995/174/08
Language: en
Date: 1995-07-08 00:00:00
Title: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland, by order of that court of 27 March 1995, in the case of Norbrook Laboratories Ltd against the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Case C-127/95)

No C 174/4            EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                            8 . 7 . 95
The applicant claims that the Court should :                                 1 . release of the funds is sought to pay a national of
                                                                                   Member State B for goods exported by him from
1 . declare void the first indent of Article 1 ( 1 ) of Council                    Member State B to Serbia or Montenegro;
     Decision   94/ 800/EC        of 22     December     1994   in
     connection with Paragraph 1 of the Marrakesh Protocol                   2 . ( a ) the goods have been formally approved as
     and Article 4 ( 1 ) of the Agreement on Agriculture in                              intended strictly for medical purposes by the
     Annex 1A to the Agreement Establishing the World                                    United Nations Sanctions Committee pursuant
     Trade Organization ( WTO ), in so far as the Council has                            to UN Security Council Resolution 757;
     thereby confirmed the conclusion of the Community's                           ( b ) they have been exported pursuant to a prior
     Framework Agreement on Bananas with Costa Rica,                                     export authorization issued by the competent
     Colombia , Nicaragua and Venezuela ;                                                authorities of Member State B pursuant to
                                                                                         Regulation ( EEC ) No 1432/92 ;
2 . order the Council to pay the costs .
                                                                             3 . the national measures permit the release of funds in
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                                payment for the export of such goods from Member
                                                                                   State A itself where the export authorization
                                                                                   referred to at paragraph 2 ( b ) has been issued by the
Infringement of Community law of a higher order : The                              competent authorities of Member State A; and
Framework Agreement approved by the Council infringes
the fundamental rights of market operators in Groups A and                   4 . Member State A has decided that the adoption of
C ( within the meaning of Council Regulation ( EEC )                               such national measures is necessary or expedient for
No 404/93 ) to the freedom to pursue an occupation, to                             enabling UN Security Council Resolution 757 to be
equal treatment and to property ( in the business established                      effectively applied ?
and carried on by them ). The Framework Agreement leads
to the purchase of third-country bananas being made more                2 . Is the answer to question 1 affected by the provisions of
difficult than hitherto under Regulation ( EEC ) No 404/93 ,                 Article 234 of the EC Treaty ?
because a part of the tariff quota may henceforth be derived
only from certain countries, and those countries are                    (') OJ No L 151 , 3 . 6 . 1992 , p . 4 .
additionally authorized to issue export licences the
production of which is a precondition for the issuing of
import licences by the Community to operators of Groups A
and C. There are no obvious technical reasons to justify the
consequent further worsening in the position of traditional             Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Court of Appeal in
importers of third-country bananas .                                    Northern Ireland , by order of that court of 27 March 1995 ,
                                                                        in the case of Norbrook Laboratories Ltd against the
                                                                                   Ministry of Agriculture , Fisheries and Food
                                                                                                    ( Case C-127/95 )
                                                                                                      ( 95/C 174/08 )
                                                                        Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
 Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Court of Appeal,
                                                                        European Communities by an order of the Court of Appeal
 London, by order of that court of 27 May 1994 , in the case            in Northern Ireland of 27 March 1995 , which was received
 of The Queen against HM Treasury and the Bank of                       at the Court Registry on 18 April 1995 , for a preliminary
              England , ex parte: Centro-Com srl                        ruling in the case of Norbrook Laboratories Ltd against the
                         ( Case C-124/95 )                              Ministry of Agriculture , Fisheries and Food , on the
                            ( 95/C 174/07 )                              following questions :
                                                                         1 . Are Council Directive 81 /851 /EEC of 28 September
 Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                       1981 on the approximation of the laws of the Member
 European Communities by an order of the Court of Appeal,                     States relating to veterinary medicinal products (') and
 London, of 27 May 1994, which was received at the Court                      Council Directive 8 1/852/EEC of 28 September 1981 on
 Registry on 11 April 1995 , for a preliminary ruling in the                  the approximation of the laws of the Member States
 case of The Queen against HM Treasury and the Bank of                        relating to analytical , pharmaco-toxicological and
 England, ex parte -. Centro-Com srl , on the following                       clinical standards and protocols in respect of the testing
 questions :                                                                  of veterinary medicinal products ( 2 ) ( and in particular
                                                                              Articles 5 , 8 , 9 , 11 , 29 to 31 , 35 , 40 and 41 of Directive
 1 . Is it compatible with the common commercial policy of                    81 / 851 /EEC and Part 1 of the Annex to Directive
      the Community and , in particular, Article 1 1 3 of the EC              8 1 /852/EEC in the form in which they existed prior to
      Treaty and Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 1432/92 of                     any amendment ) to be interpeted as permitting the
      1 June 1992 prohibiting trade between the European                      competent        authority      of    a    Member     State ,    in
      Economic Community and the Republics of Serbia and                      circumstances such as those hereinbefore described :
      Montenegro (') for Member State A to adopt national
      measures which prohibit the release of funds located in                 ( a ) to require an applicant for a marketing
      Member State A but belonging to a person in Serbia or                           authorization in respect of a veterinary medicinal
      Montenegro in circumstances where :                                             product ('the Product') to identify or to arrange to
 ---pagebreak--- 8 . 7 . 95                I EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                              No C 174/5
             be identified to the competent authority the names                      ( ii ) If they are to be applied by the national
             and addresses of any and all manufacturers of a                                    court, by reference to what criteria and
             particular substance ('the Substance ') from whom                                  considerations must the proportionality of the
             the applicant intends to purchase quantities of the                                requests and requirements be assessed ?
             Substance for use in the manufacture by the
             applicant of one of the active ingredients ('the
             Active Ingredient') of the Product, and to supply or         5 . Are Articles 30 to 36 of the EC Treaty to be interpreted
             arrange to be supplied to the competent authority                as prohibiting requests and requirements such as those
             details of the site(s ) where the Substance would be             described above, or any of them ?
             manufactured and of the manufacturing processes
             and control testing procedures used by the                   6 . ( a ) Is Article 40 of Directive 81 /851 /EEC to be
             manufacturer of the Substance ;
                                                                                     interpreted as applying to the requests and
                                                                                     requirements described above ?
     ( b ) to require an applicant for a marketing
             authorization to submit to the competent authority
              for approval the results of such control tests as are           ( b ) If so, in what circumstances and by reference to
              required to be carried out upon each batch of the                      what criteria are the reasons for the imposition of
              Substance purchased by the applicant, and not to                       such requests, and requirements to be treated as
             release any batch of the Product until such approval                    inadequate for the purposes of Article 40 , and were
              has been given in respect of the relevant batch of the                 such requests and requirements adequately
              Substance;                                                             reasoned in the present case ?
      ( c ) to require the applicant ( whether by specific licence        7. ( a ) Is a Member State liable as a matter of Community
             conditions or by withholding grant of a marketing                       law to compensate an undertaking in damages for
              authorization or otherwise ) either to comply with                     loss which it has suffered as a consequence of the
              one or both of the above requirements or to market                     imposition of requests and requirements such as
              the Product only where it has been prepared using                      those described above which :
              supplies of the Active Ingredient purchased from a
              specified third party rather than manufactured by
              the applicant itself;                                                       ( I ) are incompatible with the provisions of
                                                                                                Directives 81 /851 /EEC and/or 81 /852/EEC ;
      ( d ) to suspend the time limits for a grant of a marketing
              authorization laid down by Article 8 of Directive                         ( ii ) infringe the principles of proportionality;
              81 /851 /EEC until the applicant has agreed to
              supply the information referred to in ( a )?                            ( iii ) are prohibited by Articles 30 to 36 of the EC
                                                                                                Treaty;
2 . Is it material to the answers in questions 1 ( a ) to ( d )
     whether the process of manufacture of the product is                             ( iv ) are insufficiently reasoned within the meaning
     continuous or other than continuous and if so what                                         of Article 40 of Directive 81 / 851 /EEC ?
     would be the effect on the answers to those
      questions ?                                                              ( b ) If the answer to question 7 ( a ) ( i ), ( ii ), ( iii ) and ( iv ) or
                                                                                      any of them is in the affirmative, under what
                                                                                     conditions does such liabilitv arise ?
3 . Would it be material to the answers to questions 1 ( a ) to
      ( d ) if it were not reasonably possible for an applicant to
      obtain any of the information referred to in question               (') OJ No L 317, 6 . 11 . 1981 , p . 1 .
       1(1 ), and if so what would be the effect on the answers           (-) OJ No L 317, 6 . 11 . 1981 , p . 16 .
      to those questions ?
4 . ( a ) If the requests for further information and the other
              requirements described in question 1 , or any of
              them, are prima facie permissible under Directives
              81 /851 /EEC and 81 /852/EEC , must such requests
              and requirements comply with the Community law
              principle of proportionality ?                              Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Pretura
                                                                          Circondariale di Genova by order of that court of 19 April
       ( b ) If the answer to ( a ) is affirmative, are those              1995 in the case of Livia Balestra v. Istituto Nazionale della
              principles to be applied in this case by the national                                 Previdenza Sociale ( INPS )
              court or by the Court of Justice ?                                                         ( Case C-139/95 )
                                                                                                           ( 95 /C 174/09 )
       (c)     ( l ) If they are to be applied by the Court of
                     Justice, do the said requests and requirements
                     or any of them infringe the principles of            Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
                     proportionality ?                                     European Communities by an order of the Pretura