European Court of Justice (News)

Porr Bau
Environment and consumers
According to Advocate General Medina, uncontaminated top-quality excavated soil supplied by a construction undertaking to local farmers for improving the cultivation land may not constitute ‘waste’ under EU law

Commission v Slovakia (Protection du Grand tétras)
Environment and consumers
Protection of the capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and the Natura 2000 areas hosting the habitat of that wild bird: the Court finds that Slovakia has infringed the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive

Volvo and DAF Trucks
Competition
The Court specifies the temporal scope of the rules governing the limitation period for bringing an action for damages for infringements of competition law and of the rules governing the quantification of the harm resulting from such infringements and the rebuttable presumption relating to the existence of harm resulting from a cartel

Visite à la Cour de justice de l'Union européenne de S. Exc. Mme Katerina Sakellaropoulou, présidente de la République Hellénique

Ligue des droits humains
PDON
The Court considers that respect for fundamental rights requires that the powers provided for by the PNR Directive be limited to what is strictly necessary

London Steam-Ship Owners’ Mutual Insurance Association
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The Prestige sinking: The arbitration proceedings initiated in the United Kingdom cannot block the recognition of the Spanish judgment ordering the insurer to pay compensation for the damage caused by the oil spill

Servizio Elettrico Nazionale and Others
Competition
The Court of Justice sets out the criteria for defining a dominant position in connection with exclusionary practices on the basis of anticompetitive effects of the conduct of an incumbent operator in the context of the liberalisation of the electricity market

W. J. (Changement de résidence habituelle du créancier d’aliments)
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
For the purpose of identifying the law applicable to a maintenance payment, the habitual residence of its recipient is that of the place where the habitual centre of his or her life is located, particularly where it concerns a young child

Luso Temp
SOPO
Compensation in respect of days of paid annual leave not taken and the corresponding holiday bonus pay granted to temporary agency workers must be at least equal to that which would be granted to them if they had been recruited directly by the user undertaking to occupy the same job for the same period of time

Czech Republic v Commission
Law governing the institutions
The General Court upholds in part the Czech Republic’s action based on the unjust enrichment of the Commission in so far as it concerns the repayment of an amount equivalent to approximately € 726 000 that that Member State had to pay to that institution in the context of the recovery of anti-dumping duties

Fininvest and Berlusconi v ECB
Economic policy
The General Court upholds the decision by which the ECB refused to authorise Silvo Berlusconi’s acquisition of a qualifying holding in Banca Mediolanum

All European Final of the European Moot Court Competition takes place at the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg on 6 May

Ministre de la Transition écologique and Premier ministre (Responsabilité de l’État pour la pollution de l’air)
Environment and consumers
Advocate General Kokott: Member States may be liable for health damage caused by excessive air pollution

London Steam-Ship Owners’ Mutual Insurance Association
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Advocate General Collins: An arbitral award judgment may be a relevant judgment for the purposes of the Regulation on recognition and enforcement of judgments

Victorinox
Approximation of laws
A trader who offers, on websites such as Amazon, goods which he has not himself produced must inform the consumer of the manufacturer’s guarantee if that guarantee has been made a central or essential element of the offer

BPC Lux 2 and Others
DFON
The Portuguese legislation which provides the basis for the resolution action in respect of Banco Espírito Santo is compatible with the right to property

Openbaar Ministerie (Tribunal établi par la loi dans l’État membre d’émission)
DFON
Refusal to execute a European arrest warrant: the Court of Justice specifies the criteria permitting an executing judicial authority to assess whether there is any risk of breach of the requested person’s fundamental right to a fair trial

Sea Watch
Transport
According to Advocate General Rantos, the compliance with international standards of private ships engaged in regular sea search and rescue activities may be monitored by the port State

Commissaire général aux réfugiés and aux apatrides (Unité familiale - Protection déjà accordée)
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
A Member State may exercise its option to declare an application for international protection inadmissible on the ground that the applicant has already been granted refugee status by another Member State

Stichting Rookpreventie Jeugd and Others
Freedom of establishment
Filter cigarettes: the method which has been established by ISO for determining the maximum emission levels for tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide and to which EU law refers is valid and binding on cigarette manufacturers