The European Court of Justice and the Annulment of the Tobacco Advertisement Directive: Friend of National Sovereignty or Foe of Public Health?

Authors: Tridimas G.¹; Tridimas T.²

Source: European Journal of Law and Economics, Volume 14, Number 2, September 2002 , pp. 171-183(13)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

In Case C-376/98 Germany v Council the European Court of Justice annulled a Directive which banned the advertisement and sponsorship of tobacco. The judgment sanctions regulatory policy-making at the national rather than the Community level. The paper examines the legal basis of the annulment, its effect on economic efficiency and the implied role of the Court in the formulation of public policy in Europe. Within the institutional limits of the judicial power to determine policy, the Court focused on whether or not disparate national laws restrict free movement and distort competition and affirmed the primacy of the nation state to regulate economic activity.

Keywords: European Court of Justice; internal market; subsidiarity; judicial review; spatial model of collective choice; binary choice

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Reader in Public Policy, School of Public Policy, University of Ulster, Shore Road, Netownabbey, Co. Antrim BT37 0QB, Northern Ireland. GTridimas@talk21.com 2: Professor of European Law, Faculty of Law, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK, and Professor, College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium. ptt@soton.ac.uk

Publication date: 2002-09-01