Radlberger Getränkegesellschaft mbH & Co., S. Spitz Kommanditgesellschaft v. Land Baden-Württemberg, Intervener: Federal Republic of Germany Country/Territory European Union, Germany Type of court International court Date Dec 14, 2004 Source UNEP, InforMEA Court name European Court of Justice Seat of court Luxembourg Judge Skouris, V.Jann, P.Lenaerts, K.Gulmann, C.Puissochet, J.-P.Schintgen, R.Colneric, N.von Bahr, S.Cunha Rodrigues, J. N.Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, D. Reference number C-463/01 Language German Subject Waste & hazardous substances, Environment gen. Keyword Effluent waste standards Clean development mechanism Hazardous substances Packaging/labelling Waste prevention Environmental standards Ecosystem preservation EIA Hazardous waste Waste management Waste disposal Abstract The ECJ judged the 6 month transition period in the German Packaging Ordinance a violation of the proportionality principle, in this judgment the 6 month period is found to be possibly too short to comply with the proportionality principle. Here, however, the ECJ says it leaves the final decision on this matter to the national judge referring the matter to the ECJ in this preliminary reference case. The C-463/01 judgment should make it easy for the German judge to determine whether the period is in fact too short. In addition to C-463/01, the ECJ held that, in particular, where the new system is, as in Germany, a deposit and return system, the Member State concerned must ensure that there are a sufficient number of return points so that consumers who have been charged a deposit when buying goods in non-reusable packaging can recover the deposit even if they do not go back to the initial place of purchase. Full text Commission of the European Communities v.Federal Republic of Germany 14-12-2004 english.pdf Website curia.europa.eu