EU

On 19 May the ECJ issued judgments in Case C-531/06 and in Joined Cases C-171/07 and C-172/07 holding that Italian and German legislation restricting the ownership and operation of pharmacies to pharmacists alone is justified by the objective of ensuring that the provision of medicinal products to the public is reliable and of good quality. 

In Case C-243/08 the ECJ held that in the area of consumer protection, national courts are not limited merely to ruling on the possible unfairness of a contractual term, but must also themselves examine that issue, where requisite legal and factual elements are available to them to do so. 

See: http://curia.europa.eu/jurisp/cgi-bin/form.pl?lang=EN&Submit=rechercher&numaff=C-243/08 

IN June the Commission issued a Communication setting out what it would like to see the EU prioritise over the next 5 years across the breadth of activity in the Justice Liberty and Security fields. The European institutions will now debate the draft, leading to the definitive adoption of the work programme in Stockholm at the end of the Swedish Council Presidency in December. The Commission will follow this with an Action Plan in 2010, setting out detailed, prioritised, and timetabled plans to implement the programme. The Communication reveals some potentially far-reaching and controversial ideas across the range of JLS activities, including in both the criminal and civil law fields: 

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/barrot/archive/Programme%20Stockholm-%20EN-%20COM%202009-262.pdf 

The House of Lords EU sub-committee E has recently published a short updated report supporting renewed EU attempts to enshrine minimum defence rights, in order to balance existing measures such as the European Arrest Warrant. The report anticipates a new, narrower, Commission proposal later this year, which should be consistent with, but go beyond, the European Convention on Human Rights. 

By the time of reading, the Commission should have issued its proposal on the contents of the Stockholm Programme, the 5 year Justice, Liberty and Security work programme, to run from 2010 to 2014, which the Council is due to adopt at the Summit marking the end of the Swedish Presidency in December 2009. The emphasis will be on consolidation, evaluation and improving procedures and training. 

DG Internal Market of the Commission has conducted two important consultations:
(i) Harmonisation of Securities (holding and transaction) Law - in anticipation of legislative proposals to be issued towards
the end of 2009.   http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/financial-markets/securities-law/index_en.htm
(ii) Possible Statute for a European Foundation – the EU is considering creating this new legal form, and wants feedback on a feasibility study it commissioned on the subject. http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2009/foundation_en.htm 

By the time of reading, the long-awaited Commission proposal for an EU regulation on jurisdiction and applicable law in the field of succession and wills should either have been adopted by the Commission, or put on ice until the autumn. When it is adopted, the default applicable law will almost certainly be that of the habitual residence of the testator at the time of death, subject to the exception of his having expressly chosen the law of his country of origin if different. The Chancery Bar Association will comment on the proposal once adopted. For a detailed editorial, see:
http://conflictoflaws.net/2008/guest-editorial-harris-on-reflectionson-the-proposed-eu-regulation-on-succession-and-wills/ 

At the end of March, the Chairman of the Bar, Desmond Browne QC, accompanied by the Vice Chairman, Nicholas Green QC, the Chairman of the Bar’s European Committee, Michael Patchett-Joyce, and a small delegation from the Bar Council secretariat, attended a series of high-level meetings in Brussels. Highlights included detailed and productive meetings with Sir Kim Darroch, UK Permanent Representative to the EU; Meglena Kuneva, Commissioner for Consumer Protection; Jonathan Faull, Director General, DG Justice Liberty and Security; Baroness Ashton, EU Trade Commissioner, and Philip Lowe, Director General, DG Competition. 

The EP has supported the Commission’s 2008 proposal to extend copyright protection for performers and phonogram producers, from 50 to 70 years. See:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2009-0282 

The Commission has just completed an important consultation on the effects of the application of foreign law on claims arising from cross-border road traffic accidents, currently dealt with under Article 4 of EC regulation 864/2007 (applicable law in non-contractual matters, aka “Rome II”). The Bar Council responded.
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2009/crossborder-accidents_en.htm