What if rules on free movement and human rights collide? About laser games and human dignity: the Omega case

Abstract:

German police authorities in Bonn prohibited the exploitation of laser games as the simulation of the killing of human beings constituted an affront to human dignity as protected by the German constitution. The ECJ was asked whether the German fundamental right of respect for human dignity could justify a restriction of the freedom to provide services as laid down in Art.49 EC. The issue leads to questions about the relationship between the four freedoms and human rights in general, the scope of the ECJ's control and the desirability of a different approach to fundamental rights protected at national level. According to the authors the ECJ chose the right way to deal with the matter, but should have reviewed the German measure more thoroughly.