Agrégateur de flux

I reviewed Kokott AG’s Opinion in C-624/17 OM v Tronex here. The Court yesterday essentially confirmed her Opinion – readers may want to have a quick read of my previous posting to get an idea of the issues.

The Court distinguishes between two main categories. First, redundant articles in the product range of the retailer, wholesaler or importer that were still in their unopened original packaging. The Court at 32: ‘it may be considered that those are new products that were presumably in working condition. Such electrical equipment can be considered to be market products amenable to normal trade and which, in principle, do not represent a burden for their holder.’ However (at 33) that does not mean that these can never be considered to be ‘discarded’: the final test of same needs to be done by the national court.

The second category are electrical appliances returned under the product guarantee. At 43: goods that have undergone a return transaction carried out in accordance with a contractual term and in return for the reimbursement of the purchase price cannot be regarded as having been discarded. Where a consumer effects such a return of non-compliant goods with a view to obtaining a reimbursement of them under the guarantee associated with the sale contract of those goods, that consumer cannot be regarded as having wished to carry out a disposal or recovery operation of goods he had been intending to ‘discard’ within the meaning of the Waste Framework Directive. Moreover per C-241/12 and C-242/12 Shell, the risk that the consumer will discard those goods in a way likely to harm the environment is low.

However such a return operation under the product guarantee does not provide certainty that the electrical appliances concerned will be reused. At 35: ‘It will therefore be necessary to verify, for the purposes of determining the risk of the holder discarding them in a way likely to harm the environment, whether the electrical appliances returned under the product guarantee, where they show defects, can still be sold without being repaired to be used for their original purpose and whether it is certain that they will be reused.’

At 36: if there is no certainty that the holder will actually have it repaired, it has to be considered a waste. At 40 ff:  In order to prove that malfunctioning appliances do not constitute waste, it is therefore for the holder of the products in question to demonstrate not only that they can be reused, but that their reuse is certain, and to ensure that the prior inspections or repairs necessary to that end have been done.

The Court ends at 42 with the clear imposition of a triple duty on the holder (who is not a consumer, per above): a duty of inspection,  and, where applicable, a duty of repair and of packaging.

Geert.

(Handbook of) EU Waste law, 2nd ed. 2015, Oxford, OUP, Chapter 1, 1.149 ff.

Derniers avocats des parties civiles à plaider, maîtres Teissonnière et Topaloff, qui représentent treize parties civiles et le syndicat Sud, ont plaidé jeudi après-midi.

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The Faculty of Law at the University of Trier is looking for a research assistant (Wissenschaftliche(r) Mitarbeiter(in) (m/w/d)) at the Chair for Private Law, Private International Law and Comparative Law (Prof. Dr. Jens Kleinschmidt, LL.M. (Berkeley)) on a part-time basis (50 %).

The position will be paid according to the salary scale E 13 TV-L, and the contract will be for an initial period until 30 June 2022.

The research fellow will be given the opportunity to conduct a Ph.D. project under the chairholder’s supervision (according to the applicable regulations of the Law Faculty). His/her tasks will include supporting the chairholder in research, teaching and administrative matters, an independent teaching obligation of 2 hours/week (in German) and pursuing his/her own Ph.D. project.

The successful candidate holds a first law degree (Erste juristische Prüfung) above average and has a particular interest in private law and the willingness to work in the research areas of the chair. A very good command of German and, in addition, English or French is required. Knowledge of another language or a stay abroad will be an asset.

Candidates with disabilities will be given preference in case of equal qualification. Applications by qualified women are particularly welcome.

If you are interested, please send your application (cover letter in German, CV, all relevant documents including transcripts and copy of law degree) by 31 July 2019 to

Professor Dr. Jens Kleinschmidt
Universität Trier
FB V – Rechtswissenschaft
54286 Trier
Germany

As the application documents will not be returned, applicants are kindly requested to submit only unauthenticated copies.

The full job advert in German is available here.

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