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CJEU Joined Cases C-20/00 and C-64/00 / Opinion

Booker Aquacultur Ltd (C-20/00) and Hydro Seafood GSP Ltd (C-64/00) v The Scottish Ministers
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
Advocate General
Type
Opinion
Decision date
20/09/2001
ECLI (European case law identifier)
ECLI:EU:C:2001:469

EU:n perusoikeuskirja

Title II: Freedoms

Article 17 - Right to property

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  • CJEU Joined Cases C-20/00 and C-64/00 / Opinion

    Key facts of the case:


    References for a preliminary ruling from the Court of Session (Scotland), Edinburgh (United Kingdom)

    ((Council Directive 93/53/EEC of 24 June 1993 introducing minimum Community measures for the control of certain fish diseases – Destruction of fish stocks infected by viral haemorrhagic septicaemia ( VHS) – Compensation – Obligations of the Member State – Protection of fundamental rights, particularly the right of property – Validity of Directive 93/53))


    Outcome of the case:

    Having regard to the conclusions I have reached in respect of the various questions submitted by the national court for a preliminary ruling, I propose that the Court reply as follows:

    (1) In Case C-20/00

    ─

    to the first question, that:

    Where, in implementation of an obligation under Council Directive 93/53/EEC of 24 June 1993 introducing minimum Community measures for the control of certain fish diseases, to take control measures for an outbreak of a List II disease on an approved farm or in an approved zone, a Member State adopts a domestic measure the application of which results in the destruction and slaughter of fish, the principles of Community law relating to the protection of fundamental rights, in particular the right of property, are not to be interpreted as having placed on the Member State the obligation to adopt measures providing for the payment of compensation

    (a) to an owner of fish which are destroyed; and

    (b) to an owner of fish which are required to be slaughtered immediately, thereby necessitating the immediate sale of those fish by that owner,

    ─

    and not to reply to the second and third questions.

    (2) In Case C-64/00

    ─

    to the first question, that:

    Where, in implementation of an obligation under Council Directive 93/53 to take control measures for an outbreak of a List I disease on an approved farm or in an approved zone, a Member State adopts a domestic measure the application of which results in the destruction and slaughter of fish, the principles of Community law relating to the protection of fundamental rights, in particular the right of property, are not to be interpreted as having placed on the Member State the obligation to adopt measures providing for the payment of compensation

    (a) to an owner of fish which are destroyed; and

    (b) to an owner of fish which are required to be slaughtered immediately, thereby necessitating the immediate sale of those fish by that owner,

    ─

    not to reply to the second and third questions and to reply to the fourth question that:

    Examination of Directive 93/53 in the light of the need to respect the right of property reveals no factors affecting its validity.

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

    125) I note, lastly, that the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, proclaimed in December 2000 at the European Council of Nice, likewise does not encourage the conclusion that the protection of the right to private property requires that the owners of animals affected by an epidemic, or animal disease, have a right to compensation.

    126) I know that the Charter is not legally binding, but it is worthwhile referring to it given that it constitutes the expression, at the highest level, of a democratically established political consensus on what must today be considered as the catalogue of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Community legal order. On the right of property, Article 17 of the Charter states that: 1. Everyone has the right to own, use, dispose of and bequeath his or her lawfully acquired possessions. No one may be deprived of his or her possessions, except in the public interest and in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law, subject to fair compensation being paid in good time for their loss. The use of property may be regulated by law in so far as is necessary for the general interest.2. Intellectual property shall be protected.