A violation of the right to carry on trade, business, or profession of a persons choice. Justices. 14 Jun 2017. the European Commission, by L.Flynn and J.Tomkin, acting as Agents. This button displays the currently selected search type. 86) It is apparent from the order for reference that Swedish Match and the NNA claim that Article 1(c) and Article 17 of Directive 2014/40 are in breach of Articles 1, 7 and 35 of the Charter, since the effect of the prohibition on the placing on the market of tobacco products for oral use is that individuals who want to stop smoking cannot use products that would improve their health. It must be recalled that the principle of subsidiarity is set out in the second paragraph of Article5(3) TEU, which provides that the Union, in areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence, is to act only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved by the Union. Fernlund and S. Rodin (Rapporteur), Judges, Advocate General: H. Saugmandsgaard e, This right may also be called the right to free enterprise or economic freedom. Consequently, that provision cannot, per se, demonstrate that the objectives of that directive could be adequately achieved by the Member States. Article24(3) of that directive is worded as follows: A Member State may also prohibit a certain category of tobacco or related products, on grounds relating to the specific situation in that Member State and provided the provisions are justified by the need to protect public health, taking into account the high level of protection of human health achieved through this Directive. EN. In that regard, while it is true that the prohibition on the placing on the market of tobacco products for oral use constitutes a restriction, within the meaning of Articles34 and35 TFEU, such a restriction is clearly justified, as stated above, on grounds of protection of public health, is not in breach of the principles of equal treatment and proportionality, and satisfies the obligation to state reasons. The Court observed in paragraph37 of its judgment of 14December 2004, Swedish Match (C210/03, EU:C:2004:802), that there were differences, at the time of adoption of Directive 92/41, between the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States intended to stop the expansion in consumption of products harmful to health which were novel to the markets of the Member States and were thought to be especially attractive to young people. Swedish Match North America LLC, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. Article19(1) of Directive 2014/40, headed Notification of novel tobacco products reads as follows: Member States shall require manufacturers and importers of novel tobacco products to submit a notification to the competent authorities of Member States of any such product they intend to place on the national market concerned. "He was ill-judged enough," wrote the secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society, "to press the consideration of this new machine upon the members of Government, who . Further, according to Swedish Match, such an approach was not necessary, as demonstrated by the fact that Article24(3) of that directive grants to each Member State the option of prohibiting, on grounds relating to its specific situation, this or that category of tobacco or related products. Lady Hale, Lord Kerr, Lord Wilson, Lord Reed, Lord Hughes. In having prohibited the placing on the market of tobacco products for oral use, while permitting the marketing of other tobacco products, the EU legislature must be regarded as having undertaken a harmonisation in stages of tobacco products. Beklagter in diesem Verfahren ist der Secretary of State for Health (Minister fr Gesundheit, Vereinigtes Knigreich). As regards the assessments of highly complex scientific and technical facts that are necessary in order to determine whether the prohibition on the placing on the market of tobacco products for oral use is proportionate, it must be recalled that the Courts of the European Union cannot substitute their assessment of that material for that of the legislature on which the FEU Treaty has placed that task. *1 By the question referred for a preliminary ruling, the referring court raises the issue of the validity of Article1(c) and Article17 of Directive 2014/40, having regard to the principles of equal treatment, proportionality and subsidiarity, the obligation to state reasons laid down in the second paragraph of Article296 TFEU, Articles34 and35 TFEU and Articles1, 7 and35 of the Charter. Such a prohibition is an unsuitable means of achieving the objective of public health protection, since it deprives consumers who want to avoid the consumption of cigarettes and other tobacco products for smoking of the option of using a less toxic product, as shown by the success of electronic cigarettes and the scientific evidence on the harmful effects of tobacco in Sweden. Miguel Cardona. Tobacco products for oral use remain harmful to health, are addictive and are attractive to young people. The objective of this Directive is to approximate the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning: the prohibition on the placing on the market of tobacco for oral use; For the purpose of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply: smokeless tobacco product means a tobacco product not involving a combustion process, including chewing tobacco, nasal tobacco and tobacco for oral use; tobacco for oral use means all tobacco products for oral use, except those intended to be inhaled or chewed, made wholly or partly of tobacco, in powder or in particulate form or in any combination of those forms, particularly those presented in sachet portions or porous sachets. Registrar: M.Ferreira, Principal Administrator. Further, as stated in paragraph26 of the present judgment, such products would, if placed on the market, represent novel products for consumers. Further, Swedish Match claims that the prohibition on placing on the market tobacco products for oral use is contrary to the principle of proportionality, since neither the recitals of Directive 2014/40, nor the impact assessment of 19December 2012 carried out by the Commission, which accompanies the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products (SWD(2012) 452 final, p.49 et seq.) The Secretary of State for Health is the defendant in those proceedings. Judgement for the case Swedish Match AB and Swedish Match UK Ltd) v Secretary of State for Health Another directive made under art.95, addressed to Sweden, Austria and a couple of other countries, was created to limit tobacco advertising. INTERNATIONAL Article 7 - Respect for private and family life. Article151 of the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden [the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded (OJ 1994 C241, p.21, and OJ 1995 L1, p.1] grants Sweden a derogation from the prohibition. Swedish Match is a public limited liability company established in Sweden which primarily markets smokeless tobacco products and, in particular, snus. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Accordingly, since tobacco products for oral use had been the subject of a number of scientific studies, they could not, when Directive 2014/40 was adopted, be considered to be novel to the same extent as the novel tobacco products that are referred to in Article2(14) of that directive. It follows from the foregoing that those provisions do not involve restrictions that are disproportionate to the twofold objective pursued by Directive 2014/40, namely to facilitate the smooth functioning of the internal market in tobacco and related products and to ensure a high level of protection of public health. EurLex-2. The entity that produces matches in Sweden, Swedish Match Industries AB, is since 2009 certified according to the Forest Stewardship Council chain of custody standard and the standard for controlled wood. Swedish Match AB engages in the manufacture and trade of lighters and tobacco products. In that regard, it must be recalled that the issue of breach of the principle of equal treatment by reason of a prohibition on placing on the market tobacco products for oral use, imposed by Directive 2001/37, has previously been the subject of the judgments of 14December 2004, Swedish Match (C210/03, EU:C:2004:802), and of 14December 2004, Arnold Andr (C434/02, EU:C:2004:800). The Court further held, among other things, that: (1) adoption of the Directive was supported by sufficient scientific evidence; (2) the Directive satisfied the principle of proportionality; (3) sufficient reasons existed to treat oral tobacco differently from chewed tobacco at the time of the Directive's adoption; (4) a claim to a right to property could not be based upon denial of a market share; and (5) the Directive's interference with the freedom to pursue an economic activity was justified by the concerns guiding adoption of the Directive. Miguel Cardona said Biden's team made a "powerful defense" of the relief. Further, according to Swedish Match, the prohibition of tobacco products for oral use cannot be justified on public health grounds since the current scientific data, not available at the time of adoption of Council Directive 92/41/EEC of 15May 1992 amending Directive 89/622 (OJ 1992 L158, p.30), demonstrates that those products are at the lower end of the risk scale in terms of adverse health effects as compared with other smokeless tobacco products. Fernlund and S.Rodin (Rapporteur), Judges. On those grounds, the Court (First Chamber) hereby rules: Consideration of the question referred has disclosed nothing capable of affecting the validity of Article1(c) and Article17 of Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3April 2014 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products and repealing Directive 2001/37/EC. Don't forget to give your feedback! 18) As a party granted leave to intervene in the main proceedings, the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA), a registered charity whose objective is to promote public health by means of tobacco harm reduction, claims before the referring court that the prohibition on the placing of tobacco products for oral use on the market is contrary to the principle of proportionality and is in breach of Articles 1, 7 and 35 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter). Snus forms part, together with other tobacco harm reduction products, already available in the United Kingdom, of a coherent tobacco harm reduction strategy. In those circumstances, the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, Queens Bench Division (Administrative Court) (United Kingdom), decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following question to the Court for a preliminary ruling: Are [Article1(c) and Article17] of Directive [2014/40] invalid by reason of: breach of the EU general principle of non-discrimination; breach of the EU general principle of proportionality; breach of Article5(3) TEU and the EU principle of subsidiarity; breach of [the second paragraph of Article296 TFEU]; breach of Articles1, 7 and35 of [the Charter]?. Swedish Match AB v Secretary of State for Health. the European Parliament, by A.Tams andI.McDowell, acting as Agents. [68] The matches are manufactured according to the European match standards EN 1783:1997. the Norwegian Government, by M.Reinertsen Norum, acting as Agent, and by K.Moen, advocate. Swedish Match AB v Secretary of State for Health Policy area Employment and social policy Deciding body type Court of Justice of the European Union Deciding body Court (First Chamber) Type Decision Decision date 22/11/2018 ECLI (European case law identifier) ECLI:EU:C:2018:938 EU Charter of Fundamental Rights EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 11). 49 CE per il caso della sig.ra Watts. "The cries of the survivors soon summoned Reymond, who, apparently, found no difficulty in descending alone from the upper camp. We help promote and protect these rights. 3 Do you want to help improving EUR-Lex ? Senkung der CO2-Emissionen: Dieses Ziel mchten auch die Wissenschaftler*innen am Lehrstuhl Thermische Turbomaschinen und Flugtriebwerke der Ruhr-Universitt This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website. Dismiss. That is not a necessary approach, as indicated by the fact that Directive 2014/40 itself leaves to the Member States a degree of discretion in the adoption of their legislation in relation to other tobacco products. MADISON Gov. Translation of "Secretary of State for Health" into Polish . The industry may claim that regulations discriminate against tobacco companies or tobacco products. In those judgments, the Court held that the particular situation of the tobacco products for oral use referred to in Article2 of Directive 2001/37 permitted a difference in their treatment, and it could not validly be argued that there was a breach of the principle of non-discrimination. It is apparent from the order for reference that Swedish Match claims that Directive 2014/40 provides no specific and consistent explanation of the selective prohibition of tobacco products for oral use and adds that nor is such an explanation apparent from the context of that directive. 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