Action brought on 2 July 2008 — Commission of the European Communities v Czech Republic

(Case C-294/08)

(2008/C 247/07)

Language of the case: Czech

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (represented by: B. Schima and M. Šimerdová, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Czech Republic

Form of order sought

Pleas in law and main arguments

Under Czech Law, the conditions for the registration of second-hand vehicles imported into the Czech Republic from other Member States where they were previously registered, are laid down by Law No 56/2001 Coll. (1). Article 35(1) and (2) of Law No 56/2001 Coll. lays down conditions for the registration of individually imported second-hand vehicles for which there is proof of type-approval with regard to roadworthiness by another Member State.

The Czech authorities approve the roadworthiness of such a vehicle provided that the vehicle, its systems, structural parts or independent technical units fulfilled, at the time of type-approval with regard to roadworthiness in another EU Member State, the technical requirements in force at that time in the Czech Republic and laid down in the implementing legislation (Article 35(1) of Law No 56/2001 Coll.).

If, at the time of type-approval with regard to roadworthiness in another Member State, the vehicle, its systems, structural parts or independent technical units did not fulfil the conditions in force at that time in the Czech Republic and laid down in the implementing legislation, the appropriate authority is to decide on approval of roadworthiness for the vehicle on the basis of the technical report issued by the testing centre. The testing centre is to issue a technical certificate if the vehicle fulfils the technical conditions in force for the given category of vehicle in the Czech Republic at the time of the vehicle's manufacture (Article 35(2) of Law No 56/2001 Coll.).

It follows from Article 35(1) and (2) of Law No 56/2001 that the roadworthiness of all second-hand vehicles, for which another Member State has issued a certificate of type-approval with regard to roadworthiness, is always re-examined in the light of Czech law. That approach is, in the Commission's view, in breach of the principle of the freedom of moment of goods, according to which goods placed on the market in accordance with the legislation of one Member State must be admitted to the markets of all other Member States. The Czech legislation does not in any way take account of the results of the roadworthiness test carried out on the vehicles in question in another Member State, thereby constituting an infringement of Article 3(2) of Council Directive 96/96/EC.

In view of the foregoing, the Commission is of the view that the Czech legislation constitutes a measure having equivalent effect to a quantitative restriction within the meaning of Article 28 EC. That measure is incapable of procuring the protection of the health and life of humans and the environment or road safety and is thus not justified by Article 30 of the EC Treaty or by the case-law of the European Court of Justice.

(1)  Law No 56/2001 Coll. on conditions for operating vehicles on roads and on changes in Law No 168/1999 Coll. on liability insurance for damage caused by operating a vehicle and on changes in various related laws (‘Law on liability insurance for operating a vehicle’), as amended by Law No 307/1999 Coll.