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Criminal Proceedings against Jan Nilsson

Type de cour
Cour internationale
Date
Oct 23, 2003
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Nom du tribunal
European Court of Justice
Langue
Anglais
Sujet
Espèces sauvages et écosystèmes
Résumé
The prosecutor indicted Mr. Nilsson for: - Having, in August 1998, unlawfully and either intentionally or recklessly purchased the following mounted specimens: two sparrow hawks, two hobbies, two hen harriers, one Ural owl, four tawny owls, one goshawk, two kestrels, one snowy owl, one hawk owl, one short-eared owl, one barn-owl, one marsh harrier, four buzzards, one long-eared owl, one crane, one golden eagle and one sea-eagle despite the fact that those species are included in Annex A to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 based on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). - Having, in July 1998, unlawfully and either intentionally or recklessly purchased a mounted brown bear despite the fact that this species is included in Annex A to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 based on CITES. The Hässleholms District Court referred the following questions to the Court for a preliminary ruling: 1. Do stuffed animals listed in Annex A to Regulation No 338/97 fall within the definition of "worked animals"? 2. What is covered by the term "acquire" in Article 8(3) of Regulation No 338/97. 3. Must the person who acquired the specimen more than 50 years previously be the present owner? 4. Do the provisions on exemption in Article 32 of Regulation No. 1808/2001 mean that no assessment by the management authority in accordance with Article 2(w) of Regulation No 338/97 is required? The Court gave the following answers as part of its preliminary ruling: 1. Articles 2(w) and 8(3)(b) of RegulationNo338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein, as amended by Regulation No 2307/97, are to be interpreted as meaning that the animals referred to in Annex A to that regulation but which have been stuffed fall within the definition of "worked specimens" for the purposes of those provisions. 2. Regulation No 338/97, as amended by Regulation No 2307/97, is to apply in compliance with the objectives, principles and provisions of CITES. Although the Community is not a party to that convention, the Court cannot disregard those elements, in so far as they have to be taken into account in order to interpret the provisions of that regulation. 3. Article 8(3)(b) of Regulation No 338/97, as amended by Regulation No 2307/97, must be interpreted as meaning that receiving specimens as a gift or inheriting them, or killing animals and then taking them into one's possession, makes them "acquired" within the meaning of that provision. The concept of "acquired" for the purposes of Article 8(3)(b) concerns any taking into possession with a view to personal possession. Moreover, it is not necessary that the person who acquired the specimen more than 50 years previously be the present owner. 4. Article 8(3)(b) of Regulation No 338/97must be interpreted as meaning that the management authority of the Member State concerned must have been able to ascertain that the specimen in question was acquired in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 2(w) of Regulation No 338/97, as amended by Regulation No 2307/97. (Provided by: UNODC SHERLOC)
Texte intégral
EU-1.pdf
Site web
www.unodc.org