The New Approach to the New Approach: The Juridification of Harmonized Standards in EU Law
| Author | Harm Schapel |
| Published date | 01 December 2013 |
| Date | 01 December 2013 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1023263X1302000404 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
20 MJ 4 (2013) 521
THE NEW APPROACH TO THE NEW
APPROACH: THE JURIDIFICATION OF
HARMONIZED STANDARDS IN EU LAW
H S*
ABSTRACT
In July 2012, the Court of Justice rendered the judgment in Fra.bo, a case about th e liability
of a German private standards body under the free movement of goods. In October 2012,
the European Parliament and Council adopted Regulation 1025/2012 on European
Standardization, the long awaited formal legal f ramework for the cooperation between the
Commiss ion and the Europe an Standards O rganization s. It is very unl ikely that eithe r the
Court or the Union legislators were planning in the se instances to a ect a radical overhaul
of the New Approach to technical harmonization. And yet, that is exactly what they did.
e result of Fra.bo and the new Reg ulation is to subject European harmonized standard s
to judicial challenge by any disgruntled manufacturer of products excluded or adversely
a ected by the contents of such a standard.
To have each and every manufacturer or importer complain in each an d every court of
the Union about each and every harmonized s tandard that adversely a ects its position on
the mark et, h owev er, is much m ore l ikel y to le ad to whol esal e par alysi s th an it i s to i ncre ase
the procedural integrity of European standardizat ion.
Keywords: Court of Justice; European governance; free movement of goods; product
safety; techn ical standards
* Professor of Economic Law, Kent Law Sc hool and Brussels School of Inter national Studies, Universit y
of Kent.
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