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caCassis de Dijon 1978 Rewe-Zentral AG v Bundesmonopolverwaltung für Branntwein Court = ECJ CelexID=61978J0120 CaseNumber=120/78

C-120/78. An importer was prohibited by the German authorities from importing Cassis de Dijon, a French liqueur, into Germany, on the grounds that its alchoholic strength was too low. German law prevented the sale of any drink with an alchohol content between 15% and 25%. The importer argued that the German legal measure was in contravention of Art. 28 of the EC Treaty, being a measure equivalent to a quantitative restriction on importation. The German authorities argued that this measure was not concerned with country of origin at all, and would have applied to domestic as well as to imported products. Moreover, it pursued legitimate consumer protection objectives (it was argued, for example, that drinks in this strength encourage alchoholism).

The European Court of Justice held that the measure was equivalent to a quota, because it would have the practical effect of restricting imports, even though it did not directly target imported goods.

This is an extremely important decision, because its scope is potentially very wide -- a great many national measures are capable of having an effect on the importation of goods. See abolition of quantitative restrictions for discussion.