CELEX: C1997/142/14
Language: en
Date: 1997-05-10 00:00:00
Title: JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Fifth Chamber) of 20 March 1997 in Case C-294/96: Commission of the European Communities v. Kingdom of Belgium (Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Failure to transpose Directive 93/42/EEC - Medical devices)

10 . 5 . 97             EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 142/7
of State ) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings                composed of: J. C. Moitinho de Almeida, President of the
pending before that court between Bic Benelux SA and                  Chamber (Judge-Rapporteur), L. Sevón, D. A. O. Edward,
Belgian State — on the interpretation of Article 1 ( 1 ) and          J. -P. Puissochet and P. Jann, Judges; C. O. Lenz, Advocate­
( 5 ) of Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28 March 1983                General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment on
laying down a procedure for the provision of information              20 March 1997, in which it:
in the field of technical standards and regulations ( OJ No
L 109, 26 . 4 . 1983 , p. 8 ), as amended by Council
Directive 88/182/EEC of 22 March 1988 ( OJ No L 81 ,                  1 . declares that, by failing to adopt, within the prescribed
26 . 3 . 1988 , p. 75 ) — the Court ( Fifth Chamber ),                      time-limit, the laws, regulations and administrative
composed of: J. C. Moitinho de Almeida, President of the                    provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive
Chamber, L. Sevón, C. Gulmann ( Rapporteur), D. A. O.                       93/42/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning medical
Edward and P. Jann, Judges; D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer,                         devices, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its
Advocate-General; D. Louterman-Hubeau, Principal                            obligations under Article 22 thereof;
Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
20 March 1997, in which it has ruled:                                 2 . orders the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs.
An obligation to affix specific distinctive signs to products         (') OJ No C 318 , 26 . 10 . 1996 .
which are subject to a tax levied on them on account of
the environmental damage which they are deemed to
cause, such as that laid down in Articles 1 1 and 18 of the
Ministerial Order of 24 December 1993 concerning the
treatment of products subject to environmental tax,
constitutes a technical specification within the meaning of
Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28 March 1983 laying                                     ORDER OF THE COURT
down a procedure for the provision of information in the                                       (First Chamber)
field of technical standards and regulations, as amended
                                                                                              of 6 March 1997
by Council Directive 88/182/EEC of 22 March 1988, and
the national enactment introducing it is a technical                  in Case C- 15 0/96 P: Roberto Galtieri v. European
regulation within the meaning of the same Directive.                                             Parliament (M
(>) OJ No C 64, 2 . 3 . 1996 .
                                                                                       (Appeal manifestly unfounded)
                                                                                                 ( 97/C 142/ 15 )
                                                                                       (Language of the case: French)
               JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                    (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
                         ( Fifth Chamber)                                        published in the European Court Reports)
                        of 20 March 1997
                                                                      In Case C-150/96 P: Roberto Galtieri, temporary agent of
in Case       C-294/96: Commission of the European                    the European Parliament, residing in Brussels, represented
            Communities v. Kingdom of Belgium (')                     by Pietro Cuomo, of the Naples Bar, with an address for
(Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations —                service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Stef
Failure to transpose Directive 93/42/EEC — Medical                    Oostvogels, PO Box 221 , 13 Rue Aldringen, — appeal
                               devices)                               against the judgment of the Court of First Instance ( First
                                                                      Chamber ) of 27 February 1996 in Case T-235/94 Galtieri
                           ( 97/C 142/14 )                            v. Parliament [ 1996] ECR-SC 11-129 , seeking to have that
                                                                      judgment set aside, the other party to the proceedings
                (Language of the case: French)                        being European Parliament ( Agent: Manfred Peter) — the
                                                                      Court ( First Chamber), composed of L. Sevón, President
                                                                      of the Chamber ( Rapporteur), D. A. O. Edward and P.
  (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be        Jann, Judges, G. Cosmas, Advocate-General; R. Grass,
          published in the European Court Reports)                    Registrar, has given a judgment on 6 March 1997, in
                                                                      which it:
In Case C-294/96 : Commission of the European
Communities ( Agents: Hendrik van Lier and Jean-Francois
Pasquier) v. Kingdom of Belgium (Agent: Jan Devadder)                 1 . dismisses the appeal;
— application for a declaration that, by failing to adopt,
within the prescribed time-limit, the laws, regulations and           2 . orders the appellant to bear the costs.
administrative provisions necessary to comply with
Council Directive 93/42/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning
                                                                      (') OJ No C 197, 6 . 7. 1996 .
medical devices ( OJ No L 169, 12 . 7. 1993 , p. 1 ), the
Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations
under the EC Treaty — the Court ( Fifth Chamber),