CELEX: C2003/200/01
Language: en
Date: 2003-08-23 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court of 10 July 2003 in Joined Cases C-20/00 and C-64/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Court of Session): Booker Aquaculture Ltd, trading as "Marine Harvest McConnell" (C-20/00), Hydro Seafood GSP Ltd (C-64/00) v The Scottish Ministers (Directive 93/53/EEC — Destruction of fish stocks infected by viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VHS) and infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) — Compensation — Obligations of the Member State — Protection of fundamental rights, particularly of the right to property — Validity of Directive 93/53)

23.8.2003            EN                          Official Journal of the European Union                                                  C 200/1
                                                                     I
                                                               (Information)
                                                  COURT OF JUSTICE
                                                            COURT OF JUSTICE
                JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                    J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges; J. Mischo, Advocate General;
                                                                         H.A. Rühl, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given
                                                                         a judgment on 10 July 2003, in which it has ruled:
                        of 10 July 2003
in Joined Cases C-20/00 and C-64/00 (Reference for a
preliminary ruling from the Court of Session): Booker
                                                                         1.    Examination of the fourth question referred for a preliminary
Aquaculture Ltd, trading as ‘Marine Harvest McConnell’
                                                                               ruling in Case C-64/00 has disclosed no factor of such a kind
(C-20/00), Hydro Seafood GSP Ltd (C-64/00) v The Scot-
                                                                               as to affect the validity of Council Directive 93/53/EEC of
                        tish Ministers (1)
                                                                               24 June 1993 introducing minimum Community measures for
                                                                               the control of certain fish diseases, by reason of its laying down
                                                                               minimum measures to control diseases in List I in Annex A to
(Directive 93/53/EEC — Destruction of fish stocks infected                     Council Directive 91/67/EEC of 28 January 1991 concerning
by viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VHS) and infectious                         the animal health conditions governing the placing on the
salmon anaemia (ISA) — Compensation — Obligations of                           market of aquaculture animals and products, as amended by
the Member State — Protection of fundamental rights,                           Council Directive 93/54/EEC of 24 June 1993, without
particularly of the right to property — Validity of Directive                  providing for compensation for owners affected by those
                              93/53)                                           measures.
                        (2003/C 200/01)
                                                                         2.    The measures for the immediate destruction and slaughter of
                 (Language of the case: English)                               fish implemented by a Member State in order to control List I
                                                                               and II diseases in the context of the application of Directive
                                                                               93/53, which are, respectively, identical and similar to the
                                                                               minimum measures which the Community has laid down for
                                                                               List I diseases and which do not provide for compensation, are
                                                                               not, in circumstances such as those in the main proceedings,
                                                                               incompatible with the fundamental right to property.
In Joined Cases C-20/00 and C-64/00: Reference to the Court
under Article 234 EC by the Court of Session (Scotland)
(United Kingdom) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings
pending before that court between Booker Aquaculture Ltd,
trading as ‘Marine Harvest McConnell’ (C-20/00), Hydro                   3.    In circumstances such as those in the main proceedings, the fact
Seafood GSP Ltd (C-64/00) and The Scottish Ministers, on the                   that the outbreak of the disease is due or not due to the fish
interpretation of the principles of Community law on the                       owner's fault has no bearing on the compatibility with the
protection of fundamental rights, in particular of the right to                fundamental right to property of the measures imposed by a
property, and on the validity of Council Directive 93/53/EEC                   Member State in order to control List I and II diseases in the
of 24 June 1993 introducing minimum Community measures                         context of the application of Directive 93/53.
for the control of certain fish diseases (OJ 1993 L 175, p. 23),
the Court, composed of: G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias, President, J.-
P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen and C.W.A. Timmermans (Presi-                (1) OJ C 79 of 18.3.2000, OJ C 122 of 29.4.2000.
dents of Chambers), C. Gulmann, D.A.O. Edward, A. La
Pergola, F. Macken (Rapporteur), N. Colneric, S. von Bahr and