Free movement of goods in the European Community under Articles 28 to 30 of the EC Treaty, 4th ed.

Book abstract:

The legal status of the free movement of goods within the EC (European Community) has altered dramatically since the mid-to-late nineties. This is mainly due to the large amount of case law implemented by the European Court of Justice. Also significant are the new rulings on restriction justification, especially in matters concerning the environment and intellectual property rights, as well as the numerous new judgements on commercial State monopolies and the decree laid down by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, all of which are included in this latest fourth edition. The book specifically examines Articles 28 to 30, which deal with prohibiting 'quantitative' restrictions and the development of 'equivalent effect' on imports and exports within the participating nations of the EU (European Union).

Consisting of thirteen chapters and four annexes, the work is structured as follows. Chapter one contains introductory material; chapter two deals with scope and subject matter, in terms of defining 'goods', the origins of goods, the owner's nationality, and the ancillary movement of goods; chapter three is on territory. In chapter four, on 'persons bound', there is material on the Member States, the community institutions and private parties, and chapter five documents the effects of quantitative restrictions. Chapter six turns to the 'measures' of equivalent effect, like the Acts of Accession, the Single European Act, Keck and its aftermath, and the abuse of rights; chapter seven lays out more specific measures such as import licences, type approval and language requirements; chapter eight is on the exceptional requirements of Article 30, in terms of proof, proportionality and non-discrimination, as well as fundamental human rights et cetera. In chapter nine there is material on other exception clauses; chapter ten deals with agriculture, chapter eleven with state monopolies of a commercial character, and chapter twelve with community legislation on the free movement of goods. Finally, chapter thirteen is on the European economic sphere as a whole.