Brasserie du Pêcheur SA v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland and the Queen v. Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte: Factortame Ltd and Others

Joined Cases C-46/93 and C-48/93, E.C.R. 1996, I-1029 para. 51 (1996)

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Brasserie du Pêcheur SA v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland and the Queen v. Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte: Factortame Ltd and Others

European Union Court of Justice
Joined Cases C-46/93 and C-48/93, E.C.R. 1996, I-1029 para. 51 (1996)

Facts

Under German law, the sale of beer containing additives or beer that did not comply with German beer-purity requirements was prohibited. Brasserie du Pêcheur SA (Pêcheur) (plaintiff), a French brewery, claimed that the company was forced to discontinue beer exports to Germany after German authorities determined that Pêcheur’s beer did not comply with the German purity requirements. The European Commission brought infringement proceedings against Germany (defendant) on the grounds that the German laws on the marketing of beer were contrary to the guarantee of the free movement of goods required by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) had previously ruled that such rules were incompatible with the TFEU’s guarantee of free movement of goods. The German court requested a preliminary ruling from the ECJ regarding the conditions under which a member state may incur liability for damages caused by that state’s breach of community legislation.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

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