Eugen Schmidberger, Internationale Transporte und Planzüge v. Republic of Austria, Case C-112/00, CJEU, 12 June 2003

Alleged breach of Community law relating to the free movement of goods. Decision not to ban a political demonstration, which resulted in the complete closure of a motorway to all traffic, in order to guarantee the protesters’ freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

Art. 30 EC Treaty

Art. 34 EC Treaty

Art. 5 EC Treaty

Art. 10 ECHR

Art. 11 ECHR

1. Since both the Community and its Member States are required to respect fundamental rights, the protection of those rights is a legitimate interest which, in principle, justifies a restriction of the obligations imposed by Community law, even under a fundamental freedom guaranteed by the Treaties, such as the free movement of goods.

2. The protection of the environment and public health may, under certain conditions, constitute a legitimate objective in the public interest capable of justifying a restriction of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Treaties, including the free movement of goods.

3. Neither the freedom of expression nor the freedom of assembly guaranteed under the ECHR appears to be absolute but must be viewed in relation to its social purpose. The exercise of those rights may be limited, provided that such restrictions in fact correspond to objectives of general interest and do not, taking account of the aim of the restrictions, constitute disproportionate and unacceptable interference impairing the very substance of the rights guaranteed.

4. In weighing the different interests at stake, national authorities enjoy a wide margin of discretion. Nevertheless, it is necessary to determine whether the restrictions placed upon intra-Community trade are proportionate in the light of the legitimate objective pursued, namely fundamental rights protection.

(In the present case, an international transport company complained that the failure on the part of the Austrian authorities to ban a demonstration organised by an environmental group – the effect of which was to completely close the Brenner motorway to traffic for almost thirty hours –, amounted to an unjustified restriction of the free movement of goods. According to the Court, having regard to the wide discretion that national authorities enjoy in the matter, they were reasonably entitled to consider that the legitimate aim of protecting the protesters’ right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly could not be achieved by means of less restrictive measures).