Unilever Italia SpA v Central Food SpA

Unilever v Central Food
European Court of Justice
Submitted 7 December 1998 Decided 26 September 2000
Full case name	Unilever Italia SpA v Central Food SpA.
Case	C-443/98
CelexID	61998CJ0443
ECLI	ECLI:EU:C:2000:496
Language of proceedings	Italian
Nationality of parties	Italy
Court composition
Judge-Rapporteur C. Gulmann
President G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias
Judges L. Sevón R. Schintgen P.J.G. Kapteyn J.-P. Puissochet H. Ragnemalm M. Wathelet V. Skouris
Advocate General F.G. Jacobs
Legislation affecting
Article 177 of the EC Treaty; Council Directive 83/189/EEC, as amended by Directive 94/10/EC of the European Parliament

Unilever Italia SpA v Central Food (2000) C-443/98 is an EU law case, concerning the conflict of law between a national legal system and European Union law.

Facts

Unilever sold olive oil to Central Food, which refused to pay on the ground the oil did not comply with Italian law. This was a ‘technical regulation’ under Directive 83/189. Unilever claimed damages for breach of contract. The question was referred to the European Court of Justice, whether the Directive precluded enforcement of the contract.

Judgment

The European Court of Justice upheld Unilever’s claim that the law could not be applied. The Directive was a procedural bar to adopting national legislation.

See also

• European Union law