Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 16 January 2003.

Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic.

Failure by a Member State to fulfil obligations - Free movement of goods - Directive 73/241/EEC - Cocoa and chocolate products containing fats other than cocoa butter - Products lawfully manufactured and marketed in the Member State of production under the sales name 'chocolate' - Prohibition on marketing under that name in the Member State of marketing- Requirement to use the name 'chocolate substitute'.

Case C-14/00.


Top of the page Documents in the Case
Document Date Name of the parties Subject-matter Curia EUR-Lex Link
Opinion
ECLI:EU:C:2001:666		 06/12/2001 Commission v Italy
Free movement of goods
- Quantitative restrictions
- Measures having equivalent effect
  • Free movement of goods
  • - Quantitative restrictions
  • - Measures having equivalent effect
  • Approximation of laws
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Judgment (Summary)
ECLI:EU:C:2003:22		 06/12/2001 Commission v Italy
Free movement of goods
- Quantitative restrictions
- Measures having equivalent effect
  • Free movement of goods
  • - Quantitative restrictions
  • - Measures having equivalent effect
  • Approximation of laws
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Judgment
ECLI:EU:C:2003:22		 16/01/2003 Commission v Italy
Free movement of goods
- Quantitative restrictions
- Measures having equivalent effect
  • Free movement of goods
  • - Quantitative restrictions
  • - Measures having equivalent effect
  • Approximation of laws
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Judgment (OJ)
22/02/2003 Commission v Italy
Free movement of goods
- Quantitative restrictions
- Measures having equivalent effect
  • Free movement of goods
  • - Quantitative restrictions
  • - Measures having equivalent effect
  • Approximation of laws
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Top of the page Legal analysis of the decision or of the case

Reports of Cases

2003 I-00513

Subject-matter

Failure to fulfil obligations ─ Infringement of Article 30 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 28 EC) ─ Chocolate products lawfully manufactured in a Member State and containing fats other than cocoa butter ─ National legislation making the marketing of such products subject to the condition that they bear the words "chocolate substitute"

Systematic classification scheme

1.
-
B European Community (EEC/EC)
  B-02 Free movement of goods
    B-02.02 Prohibition of quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect in trade between Member States
      B-02.02.02 Measures having equivalent effect
        B-02.02.02.05 Rules concerning the production, denomination and marketing of products


Citations of case-law or legislation

References in grounds of judgment

Operative part

Opinion


Dates

Date of the lodging of the application initiating proceedings

  • 18/01/2000

Date of the Opinion

  • 06/12/2001

Date of the hearing

Information not available

Date of delivery

16/01/2003


References

Publication in the Official Journal

Application: OJ C 79 from 18.03.2000, p.17

Judgment: OJ C 44 from 22.02.2003, p.3

Name of the parties

Commission v Italy

Notes on Academic Writings

  1. Paone, V.: Il Foro italiano 2003 IV Col.72-75
  2. Bourges, Leticia A.: España e Italia condenadas por obstaculizar la libre circulación de mercancías: ¿un final feliz para la "guerra del chocolate"?, Gaceta Jurídica de la C.E. y de la Competencia 2003 nº 224 p.115-128
  3. Costato, Luigi: Burro di cacao e cioccolata, Rivista di diritto agrario 2003 II p.17-22
  4. Fiumara, Oscar: Cioccolato e cioccolato puro, Rassegna dell'avvocatura dello Stato 2003 p.48-49
  5. Slater, D.: Marché intérieur. Arrêt "Directive Chocolat", Revue du droit de l'Union européenne 2003 nº 1 p.290-291
  6. Spagnuolo, Francesca: Il principio di proporzionalità come parametro di legittimità nelle sentenze della Corte di giustizia sulle normative nazionali relative alla circolazione delle merci e alla tutela dei consumatori, Rivista italiana di diritto pubblico comunitario 2003 p.1544-1558
  7. Albisinni, Ferdinando: La Corte di giustizia, il cioccolato e la concorrenza, Rivista di diritto agrario 2003 II p.141-153
  8. Cancilla, Francesco Antonio: Libera circolazione degli alimenti e tutela delle tradizioni nazionali dei consumatori : quali modelli di giudizio?, Nuove autonomie Anno XII (2003), n.1-2, p.117-132
  9. Naumann, Alice: Kein "Reinheitsgebot" für Schokolade, European Law Reporter 2003 p.107-109
  10. Gorny, Dietrich: Warum man "rein" nicht "rein" nennen darf, Zeitschrift für das gesamte Lebensmittelrech 2011 p.87-93



Procedural Analysis Information

Source of the question referred for a preliminary ruling

Information not available

Subject-matter

  • Free movement of goods
  • - Quantitative restrictions
  • - Measures having equivalent effect
  • Approximation of laws

Provisions of national law referred to

Information not available

Provisions of international law referred to

Information not available

Procedure and result

  • Action for a declaration of failure to fulfil obligations : application granted

Formation of the Court

sixième chambre (Cour)

Judge-Rapporteur

Skouris

Advocate General

Alber

Language(s) of the Case

  • Italian

Language(s) of the Opinion

  • German