European Court to rule on Loi Evin

Date: 09/11/00

By Peter Chapman

PARIS will soon be forced to defend its controversial law banning alcohol adverts at televised sports events in the European Court of Justice, five years after the Commission began investigating complaints about the legislation.

However, the case is not facing the ECJ as a result of Commission action but because the issue has been referred to it by a British court.

The EU executive has come under fire for failing to take legal action against Loi Evin, which critics claim breaches single market rules because it has been applied beyond French borders. "The joy of the reference from the UK high court is that it will raise all the points without the need for the Commission," said Martin Rees, a lawyer with London firm DLA.

The British case stems from complaints by drinks firms Bacardi and Cellier des Dauphins, which were told to remove their adverts from a match at Newcastle United Football Club's ground because the game was to be broadcast in France, even though the billboards were legal under UK law.

The ECJ is seeking comments from member states on the French law and a related 'code of conduct' which was developed principally to allow French television channels to broadcast key sports events such as European Champions League soccer but provides similar safeguards for foreign firms acting outside France.

The Commission's attempts to resolve the dispute are now focusing on getting the code tightened to make it explicit that the law will not be applied beyond French borders.

Paris will soon be forced to defend its controversial law banning alcohol adverts at televised sports events in the European Court of Justice, five years after the Commission began investigating complaints about the legislation.