''Konsumentombudsmannen v Gourmet AB'' (2001) C-405/98 is an

EU law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its val ...

case, concerning the free movement of goods in the European Union.

Facts

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

banned advertisements for alcohol on the radio, TV and in magazines totally (with a few limited exceptions for magazines aimed solely at alcohol suppliers and traders). Sweden argued the measure was lawful because there had been a constant increase in wine sales, mostly imports, and additionally that the ban applied to all alcohol, whether Swedish or not, and so the ban did not have a disproportionate impact on importers.

Judgment

Advocate General Jacobs

AG Jacobs highlighted that Swedish producers dominated the strong beer market. This was shown by Gourmet's statistics. Ingrained consumer habits would favour national beer.

Court of Justice

The Court of Justice held the law infringed art 34 but it could be justified on public health grounds if it was proportionate. The ban having an effect on cross-border supply of advertising space breached

TFEU The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was previously known as the Treaty Establishi ...

art 56 on free movement of services, but this could again potentially be justified on grounds of public health. The court held that it was therefore the role of national courts to decide on a case-by-case basis whether the prohibition in question was proportionate.

Aftermath

In March 2002 the Stockholm District Court ruled that the ban was not proportionate to its objective, and resultingly incompatible with EU law. The judgement was appealed by the Consumer Ombudsman and in February 2004, the Swedish Market Court confirmed the District Court's judgement. The ban was resultingly lifted.

Notes

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References

* European Union goods case law 2001 in case law Alcohol law in Europe Advertising regulation Beer in Sweden 2001 in Sweden