Radlberger Getränkegesellschaft mbH & Co., S. Spitz Kommanditgesellschaft v. Land Baden-Württemberg, Intervener: Federal Republic of Germany

The ECJ judged the 6 month transition period in the German Packaging Ordinance a violation of the proportionality principle, in this judgment the 6 month period is found to be possibly too short to comply with the proportionality principle. Here, however, the ECJ says it leaves the final decision on this matter to the national judge referring the matter to the ECJ in this preliminary reference case. The C-463/01 judgment should make it easy for the German judge to determine whether the period is in fact too short. In addition to C-463/01, the ECJ held that, in particular, where the new system is, as in Germany, a deposit and return system, the Member State concerned must ensure that there are a sufficient number of return points so that consumers who have been charged a deposit when buying goods in non-reusable packaging can recover the deposit even if they do not go back to the initial place of purchase.