Commission of the European Communities v. Republic of Malta

By order of the President of the Court, Malta was told to refrain from adopting any measures applying the derogation in Article 9 of Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds for the hunting of quails (Coturnix coturnix) and turtle doves (Streptopelia turtur) on the 2008 spring migration. In the past, Malta allowed for the hunting of these birds under this derogation. In the main proceedings, the Commission contests this practice. As interim relief, the President ordered not to allow the hunting of two types of birds in the 2008 spring migration season. A similar request with regard to 2009 was dismissed since urgency (a condition for granting interim relief) was not made out in the present application for interim measures.