CELEX: C1996/197/33
Language: en
Date: 1996-07-06 00:00:00
Title: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale per la Lombardia by order of that court of 7 November 1995 in the case of Stefano Serbini v. Ministry of Foreign Trade (Case C-178/96)

No C 197/ 16            EN                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                          6 . 7. 96
Registry on 22 May 1996, for a preliminary ruling in the                Action brought on 24 May 1996 by the United Kingdom
case of Jyri Lehtonen and ASBL Castors Canada Dry                          against the Commission of the European Communities
Namur-Braine v. ASBL Fédération royale belge des sociétés                                            ( Case C-1 80/96 )
de basket-ball on the following question :
                                                                                                       ( 96/C 197/34 )
Are the rules of a sports federation which prohibit a club
from playing a player in the competition for the first time if          An action against the Commission of the European
he has been engaged after a specified date contrary to the              Communities was brought before the Court of Justice of the
Treaty of Rome ( in particular Articles 6 , 48 , 85 and 86 ) in         European Communities on 24 May 1996 by the United
the case of a professional player who is a national of a                Kingdom, represented by Lindsey Nicoll, of the Treasury
Member State of the European Union, notwithstanding the                 Solicitor's Department, acting as Agent, assisted by K. P. E.
sporting reasons put forward by the federations to justify              Lasok, QC, and David Anderson, Barrister, with an address
those rules, namely the need to prevent distortion of the               for service in Luxembourg at the British Embassy, 14
competitions ?                                                          boulevard Roosevelt.
                                                                        The applicant respectfully submits that:
                                                                        ( a ) Commission Decision 96/239/EEC ( 1 ) should be
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Tribunale
Amministr^tivo Regionale per la Lombardia by order of                          annulled ; alternatively;
that court of 7 November 1995 in the case of Stefano Serbini
                 v. Ministry of Foreign Trade                           ( b ) Article 1 of Commission Decision 96/239 should be
                                                                               annulled insofar as it applies to :
                         ( Case C- 1 78/96 )
                           ( 96/C 197/33 )                                         ( i ) live bovine animals permitted to be exported from
                                                                                         the United Kingdom by Decision 94/474/EEC (2 );
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                                   and/or
European Communities by order of the Tribunale
Amministrativo Regionale per la Lombardia ( Lombardy                             ( ii ) the semen and/or embryos of live bovine animals;
Regional Administrative Court ) of 7 November 1 995 ,                                    and/or
received at the Court Registry on 22 May 1996 , for a
preliminary ruling in the case of Stefano Serbini v . Ministry                 ( iii ) meat of bovine animals less than 30 months old
of Foreign Trade on the following questions :                                            slaughtered in the United Kingdom or meat from
                                                                                         bovine animals certified to come from herds that
1 . Is the purchase of unrefined gold for investment
     purposes covered by the concept of 'capital movements'                              have not experienced any case of BSE and have
     in Article 67 ( 1 ) of the Treaty which was in force until                          not been exposed to any actual or potential source
     31 December 1993 ?                                                                  of feed contaminated with the BSE agent;
                                                                                         and/or
2. If an affirmative answer is given to the preceding
     question, were the provisions of Directive                                ( iv ) products obtained from bovine animals
     88/361/EEC ( 1 ) applicable to the purchase of unrefined                            slaughtered in the United Kingdom which are
     gold for investment purposes as at 31 July 1993 and did                             liable to enter the animal feed or human food
     those provisions have direct effect so as to render                                 chains and materials destined for use in medicinal
     inapplicable national provisions of the kind contained in                           products, cosmetics or pharmaceutical products;
     Article 15 of Presidential Decree No 148 of 31 March                                and/or
     1988 ?
                                                                                  (v ) gelatin and/or tallow; and/or
 3 . If an affirmative answer is given to the preceding
     question, are the provisions of Directive 88/361 /EEC
                                                                                ( vi ) exports to third countries ( save to the extent that
     still applicable following the entry into force of
                                                                                         there is a real risk of deflection of trade, where
     Article 73a of the EC Treaty ( added by Article G ( 15 ) of
                                                                                          appropriate );
     the Treaty on European Union), according to which 'as
     from 1 January 1994, Articles 67 to 73 shall be replaced
     by Articles 73b, 73c, 73d, 73e, 73f and 73g', or is the             (c ) each of the contested acts should be annulled;
     liberalization of capital movements henceforth
     governed entirely by Articles 73b to 73g ?                          and
 4 . If the answer to the first part of the preceding question is        ( d ) the Commission should be ordered to pay the costs of
      in the negative, is Article 73b ( 1 ) of the EC Treaty now                the United Kingdom .
      applicable to the purchase of unrefined gold for
      investment purposes, and does it have direct effect ?
                                                                         Pleas in law and main arguments:
 (M OJ No L 178 , 8 . 7. 1988 , p . 5 .
                                                                         In brief, the contested Decision and the contested acts are
                                                                         unlawful for the following reasons: