Restrictions of the Sale of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices such as Contact Lenses over the Internet and the Free Movement of Goods

Abstract:

In the light of new case law development, this article examines whether national restrictions on the on-line sale of pharmaceuticals and medical devices such as contact lenses are consistent either with EU secondary law, either with Article 34 TFEU that prohibits measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions on imports.

In particular, this article focuses on an analysis of two judgments on this important issue delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2003 and 2010, namely the Deutscher Apothekerverband decision and the Ker-Optika decision.