CELEX: C2002/233/13
Language: en
Date: 2002-09-28 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) 11 July 2002 in Case C-294/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Gerichtshof): Deutsche Paracelsus Schulen für Naturheilverfahren GmbH v Kurt Gräbner (Freedom of establishment — Freedom to provide services — Scope of Directive 92/51/EEC — National legislation reserving medical practice, including the activities which Heilpraktikers are permitted to pursue in Germany, to qualified doctors — National legislation restricting medical training to certain institutions and prohibiting advertising for such training)

28.9.2002                EN                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                              C 233/9
      in the situation where an exporter completes an application for        education and training to supplement Directive 89/48/EEC
      export refunds in good faith on the basis of incorrect information     (OJ 1992 L 209, p. 25), the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed
      supplied by the manufacturer of the exported goods, and he             of: P. Jann, President of the Chamber, D. A. O. Edward and
      could not have discovered the inaccuracy of the information or         A. La Pergola (Rapporteur), Judges; J. Mischo, Advocate
      could have done so only by means of checks at the factory where        General; H. A. Rühl, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar,
      the goods were manufactured. Fault on the part of a co-                has given a judgment on 11 July 2002, in which it has ruled:
      contractor is an ordinary commercial risk and cannot be
      regarded as unforeseeable in the context of commercial trans-
      actions, the exporter having various means at his disposal to
      protect himself against such an eventuality.
                                                                             1.    No provision of Community law, as it presently stands,
                                                                                   precludes a Member State from restricting the exercise of an
( 1) OJ C 233 of 12.8.2000.                                                        activity such as that of a Heilpraktiker within the meaning of
                                                                                   the German legislation to holders of a doctor’s qualification.
                                                                             2.    Articles 52 and 59 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
                                                                                   Articles 43 EC and 49 EC) do not preclude
                  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                            —     a Member State which prohibits in its territory the exercise
                                                                                         of the activity of a Heilpraktiker within the meaning of
                                                                                         the German legislation by persons other than those with
                           (Fifth Chamber)                                               a doctor’s qualification from likewise prohibiting the
                                                                                         organisation in its territory of training in that activity by
                                                                                         unauthorised institutions, provided that that prohibition
                             11 July 2002                                                is applied in such a way that it covers only training of a
                                                                                         kind liable to create confusion in the minds of the public
                                                                                         as to whether the profession of Heilpraktiker may lawfully
in Case C-294/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from                                be exercised in the territory of the Member State in which
the Oberster Gerichtshof): Deutsche Paracelsus Schulen                                   the training is to take place;
      für Naturheilverfahren GmbH v Kurt Gräbner (1)
(Freedom of establishment — Freedom to provide services                            —     a Member State which prohibits in its territory the exercise
— Scope of Directive 92/51/EEC — National legislation                                    of the activity of a Heilpraktiker by persons other than
reserving medical practice, including the activities which                               those with a doctor’s qualification and prohibits training
Heilpraktikers are permitted to pursue in Germany, to                                    in that activity from likewise prohibiting the advertising
qualified doctors — National legislation restricting medical                             of such training offered in its territory if that advertising
training to certain institutions and prohibiting advertising                             concerns training of a kind which is prohibited in that
                          for such training)                                             Member State in accordance with the Treaty.
                           (2002/C 233/13)                                         However, Article 59 of the Treaty precludes a Member State
                                                                                   which prohibits in its territory the exercise of the profession of
                                                                                   Heilpraktiker and training in the activity of a Heilpraktiker
                    (Language of the case: German)                                 from likewise prohibiting the advertising of such training offered
                                                                                   in a different Member State, if that advertising states where the
                                                                                   training is to take place and mentions the fact that the
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published             profession of Heilpraktiker may not be exercised in the first
                    in the European Court Reports)                                 Member State.
In Case C-294/00: Reference to the Court under Article 234
EC by the Oberster Gerichtshof (Austria) for a preliminary                   (1 ) OJ C 285 of 7.10.2000.
ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between
Deutsche Paracelsus Schulen für Naturheilverfahren GmbH
and Kurt Gräbner, on the interpretation of Articles 52 and 59
of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Articles 43 and 49
EC) and of Council Directive 92/51/EEC of 18 June 1992 on a
second general system for the recognition of professional