French scent defeat in cosmetics testing case

Date: 19/05/05

France's legal battle to lift an EU ban on testing cosmetics on animals will be brought to a close at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Tuesday (24 May), two months after a damning opinion from one of the court's senior legal advisers recommended that the case be thrown out and Paris be ordered to pay costs.

The French government wanted to strike out an amendment to the cosmetics directive which outlaws animal tests for make-up and toiletries and blocks the sale of cosmetics made with ingredients that have been tested on animals. "France has the biggest cosmetic industry in Europe and consequently does most of the animal testing," said Marlou Heinen of the campaigning Eurogroup for Animal Welfare.

France sought to annul the directive, saying that it did not provide legal certainty and clashed with several World Trade Organization rules. In his draft opinion, Leendert Geelhoed, an advocate general of the ECJ, commented that France could have asked for legal guidance instead of trying to overturn the ban. He backed the right of the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament to legislate in this area.

Austria, the UK and the Netherlands have already outlawed tests. Heinen said there was widespread EU public support for a ban on cosmetic animal testing.

Anticipation of a ruling of the European Court of Justice on 24 May 2005. The French government wanted to strike out an amendment to the cosmetics directive which outlaws animal tests for make-up and toiletries and blocks the sale of cosmetics made with ingredients that have been tested on animals. Two months earlier there had been a damning opinion from one of the court's senior legal advisers recommended that the case be thrown out and Paris be ordered to pay costs.

• Primary Source

ECJ; Notice for the OJ: Case C-244/03 http://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?pro=&nat=&oqp=&dates=&lg=&language=en&jur=C%2CT%2CF&cit=none%252CC%252CCJ%252CR%252C2008E%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C%252Ctrue%252Cfalse%252Cfalse&num=C-244%252F03&td=ALL&pcs=O&avg=&page=1&mat=or&jge=&for=&cid=474582

ECJ: Opinion of Advocate-General Geelhoed delivered on 17.3.05, Case C-244/03, French Republic v European Parliament and Council of the European Union http://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?pro=&nat=&oqp=&dates=&lg=&language=en&jur=C%2CT%2CF&cit=none%252CC%252CCJ%252CR%252C2008E%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C%252Ctrue%252Cfalse%252Cfalse&num=C-244%252F03&td=ALL&pcs=O&avg=&page=1&mat=or&jge=&for=&cid=474582

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