CELEX: C2000/192/06
Language: en
Date: 2000-07-08 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 13 April 2000 in Case C-176/96 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de Première Instance de Bruxelles): Jyri Lehtonen and Castors Canada Dry Namur-Braine ASBL v Fédération Royale Belge des Sociétés de Basket-ball ASBL (FRBSB) (Freedom of movement for workers — Competition rules applicable to undertakings — Professional basketball players — Sporting rules on the transfer of players from other Member States)

8.7.2000                   EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                            C 192/3
1. Declares that, by not adopting within the period prescribed all           1. Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 3295/94 of
     the laws, regulations and administrative measures necessary to              22 December 1994 laying down measures to prohibit the release
     comply with Article 6(3) and (4) of Council Directive                       for free circulation, export, re-export or entry for a suspensive
     92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural                     procedure of counterfeit and pirated goods is to be interpreted as
     habitats and of wild fauna and flora, the French Republic has               being applicable where goods of the type specified in Regulation
     failed to fulfil its obligations under that Directive;                      No 3295/94, imported from a non-member country, are, in the
                                                                                 course of their transit to another non-member country, tempor-
2. Dismisses the remainder of the action;                                        arily detained in a Member State by the customs authorities of
                                                                                 that State on the basis of that regulation and at the request of
3. Orders each of the parties to bear its own costs.                             the company which holds rights in respect of those goods which
                                                                                 it claims have been infringed and whose registered office is in a
                                                                                 non-member country.
(1) OJ C 278 of 5.9.1998.
                                                                             2. Consideration of the questions raised has revealed no factor of
                                                                                 such a kind as to affect the validity of Regulation No 3295/94.
                                                                             (1) OJ C 397 of 19.12.1998.
                   JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                              (First Chamber)                                                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                              of 6 April 2000                                                          (Sixth Chamber)
                                                                                                       of 13 April 2000
in Case C-383/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Oberster Gerichtshof): The Polo/Lauren Company LP                        in Case C-176/96 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
v PT. Dwidua Langgeng Pratama International Freight                          the Tribunal de Première Instance de Bruxelles): Jyri
                               Forwarders (1)                                Lehtonen and Castors Canada Dry Namur-Braine ASBL v
                                                                             Fédération Royale Belge des Sociétés de Basket-ball ASBL
(Common commercial policy — Regulation (EC) No 3295/94                                                     (FRBSB) (1)
— Prohibition of the release for free circulation, export, re-
export or entry for a suspensive procedure of counterfeit and                (Freedom of movement for workers — Competition rules
pirated goods — Whether applicable to goods in external                      applicable to undertakings — Professional basketball players
                            transit — Validity)                              — Sporting rules on the transfer of players from other
                                                                                                         Member States)
                             (2000/C 192/05)                                                            (2000/C 192/06)
                      (Language of the case: German)                                              (Language of the case: French)
                                                                             (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                                                                                                 in the European Court Reports)
                      in the European Court Reports)
                                                                             In Case C-176/96: reference to the Court under Article 177 of
In Case C-383/98: reference to the Court under Article 177 of                the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Tribunal de
the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Oberster                         Première Instance (Court of First Instance), Brussels, for a
Gerichtshof (Supreme Court), Austria, for a preliminary ruling               preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
in the proceedings pending before that court between The                     court between Jyri Lehtonen and Castors Canada Dry Namur-
Polo/Lauren Company LP and PT. Dwidua Langgeng Pratama                       Braine ASBL and Fédération Royale Belge des Sociétés de
International Freight Forwarders — on the interpretation of                  Basket-ball ASBL (FRBSB), intervener: Ligue Belge — Belgische
Council Regulation (EC) No 3295/94 of 22 December 1994                       Liga ASBL — on the interpretation of Articles 6, 48 of the EC
laying down measures to prohibit the release for free circu-                 Treaty (now, after amendment, Articles 12 EC and 39 EC), 85
lation, export, re-export or entry for a suspensive procedure of             and 86 of the EC Treaty (now Articles 81 EC and 82 EC)
counterfeit and pirated goods (OJ 1994 L 341, p. 8) — the                    — the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: R. Schintgen,
Court (First Chamber), composed of: L. Sevón, President of the              President of the Second Chamber, acting as President of the
Chamber, P. Jann and M. Wathelet (Rapporteur), Judges;                       Sixth Chamber, G. Hirsch and H. Ragnemalm (Rapporteur),
D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate General; H.A. Rühl, Princi-                 Judges; S. Alber, Advocate General; L. Hewlett, Administrator,
pal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on                for the Registrar, has given a judgment on 13 April 2000, in
6 April 2000, in which it has ruled:                                         which it has ruled:
 ---pagebreak--- C 192/4                 EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                             8.7.2000
Article 48 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 39 EC)          Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of
precludes the application of rules laid down in a Member State by          Sweden and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European
sporting associations which prohibit a basketball club from fielding       Union is founded, and the principle of equal treatment enshrined
players from other Member States in matches in the national                more specifically in the second subparagraph of Article 40(3) of the
championship, where they have been transferred after a specified date,     EC Treaty (now, after amendment, the second subparagraph of
if that date is earlier than the date which applies to transfers of        Article 34(2) EC), are to be interpreted as not precluding national
players from certain non-member countries, unless objective reasons        legislation governing the initial allocation of individual reference
concerning only sport as such or relating to differences between the       quantities and adopted by a Member State which acceded to the
position of players from a federation in the European zone and that        European Communities on 1 January 1995, whereby:
of players from a federation not in that zone justify such different
treatment.                                                                 — individual reference quantities for producers who did not alter
                                                                                their production between 1 January 1991 and 31 December
                                                                                1994 are determined on the basis of the average quantities
(1) OJ C 197 of 6.7.1996.                                                       delivered between 1991 and 1993;
                                                                           — new producers who commenced production between 1 January
                                                                                1991 and 31 December 1994 and producers who increased
                                                                                their production during the same period, but not producers who
                                                                                did not alter their production between 1 January 1991 and
                                                                                31 December 1994 and ecological milk producers, have a
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                          reduction applied (and at different rates) in the calculation of
                                                                                their milk quotas;
                         (Sixth Chamber)                                   — an individual reference quantity is granted only to producers who
                                                                                can show that their production was continuous between 1 March
                         of 13 April 2000                                       1994 and 1 January 1995, unless a producer who was
                                                                                compelled to interrupt delivery during that period can show
in Case C-292/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling                            special circumstances justifying the grant of a reference quantity.
from the Regeringsrätten): Proceedings brought by Kjell
                      Karlsson and Others (1)                              (1) OJ C 295 of 27.9.1997.
(Additional levy on milk — Milk quota scheme in Sweden
— Initial allocation of milk quotas — National rules —
Interpretation of Regulation (EEC) No 3950/92 — Principle
                        of equal treatment)
                          (2000/C 192/07)                                                    JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                                                                                                      (Fifth Chamber)
                   (Language of the case: Swedish)
                                                                                                     of 13 April 2000
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                                                                           in Case C-251/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
                   in the European Court Reports)
                                                                           the Gerechtshof te ’s-Gravenhage): C. Baars v Inspecteur
                                                                           der Belastingen Particulieren/Ondernemingen Gorin-
In Case C-292/97: reference to the Court under Article 177 of                                              chem (1)
the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Regeringsrätten
(Sweden) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings brought               (Freedom of establishment — Assets invested in shares in
before that court by Kjell Karlsson and Others — on the                    companies established in the taxing Member State —
interpretation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3950/92 of                   Exemption from wealth tax — Assets invested in shares in
28 December 1992 establishing an additional levy in the milk               companies established in another Member State — No
and milk products sector (OJ 1992 L 405, p. 1), Article 5 of                                             exemption)
the EC Treaty (now Article 10 EC), Article 40(3) of the EC
Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 34(2) EC) and the
principle of equal treatment — the Court (Sixth Chamber),                                             (2000/C 192/08)
composed of: P.J.G. Kapteyn, acting for the President of the
Sixth Chamber, G. Hirsch (Rapporteur) and H. Ragnemalm,                                         (Language of the case: Dutch)
Judges; D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate General; L. Hewlett,
Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
13 April 2000, in which it has ruled:                                      (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                                                                                               in the European Court Reports)
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3950/92 of 28 December 1992
establishing an additional levy in the milk and milk products sector,      In Case C-251/98: reference to the Court under Article 177 of
as amended by the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the        the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) by the Gerechtshof te