Rewe-Zentral Aktiengesellschaft v. Bundesmonopolverwaltung fur Branntwein (Cassis de Dijon Case)
Court of Justice of the European Union
1979 E.C.R. 649
Cassis de Dijon, a French liqueur with under 25 percent alcohol content, could not be imported by Rewe-Zentral (Rewe) (plaintiff) into Germany (defendant) because German law required all liqueurs to contain at least 25 percent alcohol. Rewe challenged the German law as violating Article 28 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits member states from restricting the free movement of goods, and the German court referred the question to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Germany defended the law as protecting public health, since it argued lower-alcohol drinks made it easier to develop a tolerance to alcohol, and as protecting consumers by setting a minimum standard they expected in liqueurs.
Whether, under Article 28 of the TFEU, a member state's law may prevent the free movement of goods between member countries if it is not enacted to protect public health, fair transactions, or consumers.